Broken Rainbow
by Digitaldreamer
Summary: (Sequal to Shadow Revenge) All Sora wants is for things to go back to normal, but can things ever go back to normal? It sure doesn't look like it when evil is again after him, out to fulfill an ancient prophecy...this time, Sora might not come back..
1. Prolouge

~*Broken Rainbow*~  
  
By:Digitaldreamer  
  
Prolouge  
  
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Me:HERE IT IS PEOPLE! THE(not so) LONG AWAITED SEQUAL TO SHADOW REVENGE!  
  
fans:YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!  
  
Me:Thank you^^  
  
Sora:Wow, we're making a sequal?  
  
Riku:But the last one sucked!  
  
Me:*pulls out gasoline, pours it on Riku, holds up lighter*Say that again?  
  
Riku:O.O AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!*Runs*  
  
Me:BWA HA HA HA! DIGITALDREAMER STRIKES AGAIN! Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this, as I'm enjoying writing it, and it will be longer then the first one most likly, seeing as the plot is far diffrent, I have many geust chara's to introduce, and a big plot to bring out, and lets just say the little keybearer is gonna have alot to do! Yeah, I got the idea for this a few nights ago, when I was really sick. And just before I went to sleep I read a REALLY angsty Yu Gi Oh fic, and a REALLY angsty KH fic. That night I had a dream, and it was a really angsty countiuation of SR, with Yu Gi Oh charecters, and I decided it would make a good sequal, so here it is!  
  
Me:Anyways, I'm gonna write the Disclaimer ONCE and ONLY once!  
  
I DON'T OWN KINGDOM HEARTS, OR YU GI OH, OR DIGIMON, OR ANY OF THE ANIME CHARA'S I PUT IN HERE!I ONLY OWN THE PLOT, AFEW OOC's, AND SOME CHOCOLATE!  
  
There. Now enjoy^^  
  
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A shadowed figure sat on a blackened throne. He wore a black cloak, making him nearly invisable in the dark room. The hood was pulled back, however you could not see the mans face, for it too was over shadowed. The room held various stone gargoyles with gem eyes that seemed to glare at you.  
  
"Computer on."A clear sharp voice stated.  
  
A whir filled the room, and the gargoyle gem eyes began to glow. Then beams of light shot from the gems, and all hit in the same spot, where a huge beam shot from the earth. When all of thease beams connected, they created a holographic image of millions of little stars. Half of them were white, the other black.  
  
The figure on the throne smirked coldly.  
  
"It's all coming together..."He murmered.  
  
It was then that another figure entered the room. He too wore a hooded cloak, on;y this one actually had the cloak up.  
  
"You called Sir?"  
  
"Yes Solus."The first figure replied. He held out a black gloved hand, and touched one area on the computer map."So your saying the power reading's came from here?"  
  
"Yes sir, the Kingdom Hearts Universe."  
  
The throned figure smiled and touched a small star on the panel. It drew in closer.  
  
"And you are sure this is where the power wave's origin is now?"  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"Then who or what-"  
  
The two were interuppted as two muscular men in black armor stepped forth, dragging with them a small boy. His amethyst eyes were innocent and child like, but now shown with pain and defiance. His hair was spiked, black with crimson ends. His bangs were quite strange, shaped as lightning bolts and golden, framing his face. Various bruise's lined the boy's face, and his clothes were torn and bloody. Dispite the boy's beaten body and small stature, he countiued to fight the gaurd's grip.  
  
The glowing holographic screen vanished instantly as the figure on the throne stood."What is it now? I'm in the middle of something."  
  
"I am sorry master."One gaurd bellowed and they both bowed low."But we seem to have problems with this one."He shoved the Tri colored haired boy before the hooded two.  
  
The hooded figure chuckled evilly and walked up to the amethyst eyed boy, revealing his silver shoulde length hair, and a blindfold covered his eyes."Your obviously new, we've had little Yugi Moto for quite some time now, and he still hasn't obeyed my commands. Too bad, as he has extrodinary light AND shadow powers, a rare talent. Oh well, you should have just gone for some of the newer slaves. This one is still going through....ah...how shall we say, training." He backfisted the boy.  
  
"I'm not a slave."Yugi growled and painfully stood to his feet."And I won't let you take anyone else."  
  
The silver haired man laughed. "Give up boy. Even with your resistance, it's still a minor setback. You know little by little demensions are falling and are bowing to my authority. Oh well, don't worry. Soon we'll have another pet to tame beside's you."  
  
He laughed coldly and put a hand to his head, pushing back some silver bangs. He held out his other hand and the other figure placed a whip in it.  
  
"You must learn to respect your master, and the soon to be master of the universe's, boy." The silver haired one stated coldly.  
  
CRACK!  
  
The boy cried in pain as the whip cut through his clothes and upon his cheast, the blow knocking him to his knees, his legs already too weak to support him. He shook from exsaustain and freash pain.  
  
The silver haired man raised the whip, ready to strike again.  
  
CRACK!  
  
There was a golden flash, and a taller boy who looked much like Yugi only with crimson eyes snatched the whip before it could strike his smaller look alike.  
  
"Don't. Touch. My. Hikari."The taller teen growled, voice holding barely countianed rage.  
  
"Ah yes, Yami, I wondered how long it would take before you came out, didn't Yugi tell you to stay? You cannot do anything, as you are merely a spirit. And thanks to that silver collor I have on your neck, your powers are useless."  
  
Yami growled, but he knew the hooded figure was right. Yami could not deal any physical blows as a spirit, and the coller rendered his shadow powers completely useless. Strange how he could take both kinds of attacks, but he couldn't deal any.  
  
The hooded figure laughed coldly and sent a torrent of black energy at Yami, who winced as the power began to make him rise in the air.  
  
"How pathetic."The second hooded figure sneered."The great Yami can't seem to protect his little aibou...."  
  
"Yami, go back into the puzzle, you don't need to get hurt because of me."Yugi said, small tears in his amythyst eyes.  
  
"Yes Yami, get back to the puzzle, your totally helpless."  
  
Yami just closed his eyes and grit his teeth."No aibou, I won't let you get hurt anymore."  
  
"Yami..please.."The smaller boy begged.  
  
Yami sighed softly."Fine Hikari."With that the taller form vanished.  
  
The blindfolded man snorted."Even the great pharoah cannot handle me." He glared down at the boy.  
  
"You can't make me listen to you. Not me, not Yami, nor any of my friends will listen to you. It dosn't matter what you do, we're not playing soilder for some sick minded freak!"Yugi said, standing slowly and painfully to his feet.  
  
"Wanna bet?"The blindfolded figure sneered. He turned to his hooded companion and nodded.  
  
The other one grinned and pressed a small button."Send in Mr.Katsuya."  
  
Yugi blinked."No."  
  
"Yes it's true child."  
  
The door opened again and a tall figure walked into the room, blonde and muscular, with a black cloak around his shoulders.  
  
Yugi gasped."Jounouchi?"  
  
"Hey Yug....."The taller teen replied, voice sorrowful and sad. He knelt down beside the boy."Are you ok?"  
  
"Who care's about me, what are you doing in a genaral's cloak?"Yugi asked.  
  
Jounouchi opened his mouth to reply but was interuppted.  
  
"Jounouchi, would you care to escort our little friend back to the toture chambers?"  
  
The blonde didn't move, just glared at the man with all the hatred and malice a sixteen year old could muster."What makes you think I'm gonna take my best friend there, or anywhere in this hell for that matter?"  
  
Again the silver-haired man sighed."Unless you would rather I have one of my other slaves escort your sister down to there instead."  
  
Jounouchi went pale. He gently grabbed the smaller boys arm."C'mon Yugi...."He murmered.  
  
"Jounouchi don't..."The smaller boy wispered pleadingly.  
  
Jounouchi closed his eyes to prevent tears from falling from his chocolate brown eyes."I'm sorry Yugi."He wsipered and gentally pulled his friend out of the room.  
  
Again the blindfolded figure sat back in his throne.  
  
The hooded man sighed."This could be a problem, the few strongest duelists we have are refusing to obey, we only got Jounouchi because we have his sister. And if we can't get the rest of them to obey, what happens?"  
  
The one on the throne smirked." They will obey. Even if they refuse to obey now, they won't have a choice soon. As soon as the essance is within our grasp, they won't have a choice. " He laughed.  
  
The hooded one sighed and pressed a butten, revealing the image of a spiky haired brunette with tan skin, deep blue eyes, rainbow angel wings, and a grin that seemed to light up the room.  
  
"Thats him. That is the emboidiment of the Essance of Heart."  
  
"Good. That is all Solus, go back to your duties."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
The blindfolded man was again alone. He laughed."Soon Essance of Heart. You'll be mine very soon."  
  
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To be countiued...  
  
Me:BWA HA HA HA HA!AND SO IT BEGINS!!  
  
Sora:O.O I'm scared..........  
  
Yugi:Me too....that whip hurt...  
  
Sora:You tihnk that hurt? You obviously never read Shadow Revenge*hand's Yugi a copy*  
  
Yugi:Er ok....  
  
Me:*to Sora*Great, now he's gonna think I'm evil, thanks alot Sora!  
  
Sora:YOU ARE EVIL!  
  
Me:Whatever, R & R!! 


	2. Memories

** Broken Rainbow  
  
By:Digitaldreamer  
  
Chapter one:Memories  
  
Version 0.2**  
  
Right, here we are! Chapter One of my crappy sequel. However, this particular chapter one isn't NEARLY as bad os the original, so now, after revising it, hopefully I can look upon that review number and feel I actually deserve all of them. Yeah......  
  
Not much else to say...um...here's the review answer things!  
  
**Celtic Guardian**  
  
Hee hee, thanks Here, you gets....A ten pound bag of sugar cubes  
  
**Cloud-123**  
  
Hee hee, your name is so cool!Lookie, I updated!You gets a leftover chocolate egg from easter!  
  
**windflame**  
  
Have I mentioned how much I love your name? Its soooo cool!! Heh, anyways, Chocolate bar for you  
  
**princessswifty**  
  
HA YES!!LETS KILL FF.NET MORE OFTEN!BWA HA HA HA HA HA!!Heh, yes poor Yugihuggles Yugi Hee hee, here ya go, a bow of Nerds for you  
  
**Billy Bob Joe**  
  
A chicken eh? Well...uh....Leon recently had a break down and burned down the chicken coop, as soon as Sora catches one of run aways we'll get it to ya!  
  
( Sora is chasing a chicken in background screaming "COME BACK HERE!!!!!")  
  
--Well, until we get your chicken, here!hands you a turkeyTHANKS FOR YOUR AWESOME REVIEW!!  
  
**snakey**  
  
Hee hee, ice cream for you  
  
**black-magician-girl  
**  
Nope, I never stop with Sora :P Anyways, chocolate for you!  
  
**crystal-chan**  
  
Ah yes...gotta love the angst....HA HA HA HA HA I LOVE THAT FIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ok, I think this is longer...anyways, Pixi stix for you!  
  
**shadow-of-hearts**  
  
Tsk tsk...It's JOUNOUCHI!!Curse you for not using proper japanese names!!  
  
ha ha ha ha RIKU!  
  
Anyways, Giant box of nerds fer you!!!  
  
Right-o, Fic time!  
  
(Suggested listening music, Hymn of the Fayth, any version)  
  
_The dream came again, like it always did. Every night it was the same, segments added here and there. But for the most part, nothing ever changed......  
  
_** "He........lp...."**  
  
_ Falling. He was falling, falling into the abyss of the purest black. He was always falling it seemed, further and further, stuck in a never ending spiral. The darkness pressed around him, threatening to crush him with it's cold, squeezing him with claws of ice. Sapphire eyes stared hollowly into the ever growing abyss below, never blinking.  
  
_ ** "Help....."**  
  
_ Seven orbs orbited around him, small bodies of gentle light, pulsing and providing his only means of sight. Bloody crimson drifted by, a blazing orange, a cool, calming emerald, then a joyful soothing orb of sapphire, then shimmering silver, then deep cool midnight blue, followed lastly by an orb of amethyst. These orbs swirled around him, whispering in voices, singing in an unknown language, a song forgotten by time.   
  
_ ** "Help...........me..."**  
  
_ And still the one voice rang, coming from the abyss that beckoned, drawing ever closer. The abyss that reached up, welcoming him with icy gales of pain, misery, and death. And despite his efforts to to flee, he could not, as if he was drawn to this icy cold by some force.   
  
_ **"Help me......Help me......"**_ The voice pleaded, sobs coming between it's pathetic cries.   
  
He looked down into the abyss, into the face of the darkness that threatened to consume him. He should have been scared, he should have been worried. But none of these thoughts plagued him, instead he was filled with a sense of curiosity. What lay beyond the depth's of the abyss? What lay beyond?  
  
_** "Help me..........help me.........help me........"**  
  
_ Unconsciously, he reached out his gloved hand towards the dark, towards the icy cold. "I'm coming." He tired to say, but his voice was lost within the dark.  
  
And then the cold came, so cold it burned, stinging like a million knives. He cried out in pain and thrashed wildly in the dark, eyes squeezed shut in pain and arms and legs flailing wildly. A cold deep chuckle echoed through the dark.  
  
And still the voice pleaded, still it sobbed._ **"Help me...help me.........help me..."**

****   
  
  
(Suggested listening music....ummm......Eternity from FFX-2)  
  
The sunrise rose over the ocean. The sea lapped gently and relentlessly against the sugar white beaches of destiny island. The salt tinged morning mist blew in the air. For once Destiny Island did not ring with the sound of teenage laughter, or the sound of playful sparring. For once,all was quiet. The paupu tree's blew in the wind. And on top of a newly made cliff on Destiny Island, at the very point, a boy sat.  
  
He was about 16, with spiky chestnut brown hair that seemed to defy gravity without the use of gel. His Sapphire eyes seemed to glow from inside with some kind of alien light, and that light seemed to light up his entire face, or maybe it was his smile that seemed to light the island with joy. He wore a red t-shirt, a jean jacket with cotton white sleeves, and baggy black jeans. A chain hung from two belt loops on the jeans the chain in the form of crowns. On his hands he wore white finger-less gloves, with metal circles on top. Around his neck he wore a dog tag with the words "Keyblade Master 16" engraved upon it, along with the same crown symbol. Also he wore a chain, and hanging from that chain, was a crystal of all colors, that seemed to glow as bright as the boy's smile. The crystal was in the shape of a Starburst. The boy seemed like a normal teenaged islander just enjoying the sunrise, if it weren't for the fact that two rainbow, glittering wings were folded upon his back.  
  
"Two years...."The boy murmured to himself, fingering the Crystal in his palm, wincing slightly when one of the stars points dug into his glove. That glove hid deep scars on his wrists. His clothes hid many scars upon his well built frame. The boy closed his eyes, remembering.   
  
Two years ago today. He thought to himself. Two years since his enemies from that adventure so long ago had been revived by the devil himself. Two years ago today since his friends were used as bait, the only way to free them had been to submit himself. Two years ago today that he'd screamed in pain as he was put through torture upon unspeakable torture. Two years ago today that he had remained defiant, even when it came to his death as the price to save his friends from the same fate. Two years ago that he had been revived to become the embodiment of every living being, the embodiment of light within every heart, gained the power to control every element, and the very strands of reality with a mere wave of his hand. Two years ago today that he had become the Essance of Heart. Two years ago today that The former Essance Gaia had betrayed him, and had helped Lucifer break him. Two years ago today that he had killed each of his friends, erased hem from the fabrics of reality with a cold smirk, under Lucifer's control. Two years ago today that he made the ultimate sacrifice to save them.One year ago today that he'd returned. It had been two long, painful years. And he still wasn't ok.  
  
The wind ruffled the boys hair as he watched the sunrise. It was perfect flying whether. The boy smiled slightly and spread his shimmering rainbow wings. He flapped lightly once, hovering, and then, raised his wings and flapped downward with all his might. The sand beneath him burst away from the force, and the force of the single wingbeat sent the boy rocketing a good fifty feet into the air. The boy spread his wings and caught a nice morning updraft that carried him higher and higher, and pushed him towards the main island of the destiny archipelago, where the actual town was. He was now so high he was a mere speck in the sky to the already bustling people below, not that it would matter that they would see him. He was still viewed as a hero, despite his modest plea's.   
  
The teenager looked down and watched the various islanders begin their day. The baker had begun to bake his various goods. Some kids played tag together, their laughter filling the island air. Their mother watched from the porch steps with a smile. Men gave their wives a kiss goodbye before heading off to their various jobs. The boy smiled. A regular day on the Destiny Isles, and he couldn't be more happy for it.  
  
With a grin the boy folded his wings to his back and dove headfirst towards the ground. The wind blew his hair back and a giddy grin shown upon the 16-year old's face, things that always accompany one when flying. The Essance dove at an extremely high speed, the ground appearing to rush up to meet his face, when in reality he was rushing down to meet the ground. The boy pulled up at about a hundred feet from the ground and flew back towards the tiny island that was destiny island, again using an updraft to fly higher and higher.  
  
After awhile he came to the original island he had been on, the small shacks upon the island becoming slowly visible.With a grin he dove, straight for the water. Faster, faster, and faster he went, the foamy surf rushing up to meet him.   
  
Three feet from the water the boy opened his wings half way and opened his palms. Energy burst from his hands and propelled him forward, a wave of water splashing behind the boy despite the fact that he wasn't touching the water, wind blowing off of him at this speed was making the waves. He was now a mere rainbow streak bursting across the water, heading straight for the cliff of destiny island. "WHOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"The boy cried from the insane rush of it all. He went closer and closer to the cliff........He was gonna crash!!!!  
  
Or not!A the last second the teenager pulled up without any loss of speed. He went straight up and then dove straight down, opening his wings to slow his fall and landing gracefully where he had started.  
  
The brunette just took a moment to breath, inhaling the sea-tinted air. "So, Sora-kun, you have allot of energy this morning?" A female voice asked from behind him.  
  
Sora blinked, turning to meet the periwinkle gaze of a girl a bit shorter then him. Her red hair trailed down her back, the silky strands hiding her left ear from view while it was tucked behind her left ear, revealing several diamond stud earrings.A black choker was worn upon her neck, along with a pure white tear-drop shaped crystal and a battered, slightly bent crown pendent. She wore a light blue halter top with the word Angel placed upon it in white, a halo was hovering above the 'a' and two shimmering white wings were placed at both ends of the word. She wore thick white bands around both wrists. She also wore a jean mini-skirt and black boots.   
  
Sora smiled. "Hey Kairi. Yeah, kind of." He said, putting an arm around the girl in a hug.  
  
The girl giggled. "How come you're up so early? Normally you're not up for another hour or so."  
  
Sapphire eyes darkened slightly as a memory came to mind.  
  
_Help me....  
_  
The same dream, every night for the past month, leaving him in cold sweats. Of course, he couldn't tell Kairi that, now could he?  
  
"Um..no reason." Sora said.  
  
Kairi blinked. "Is something wrong?"  
  
"No, of course not." The boy replied all too quickly.  
  
Kairi smiled, putting her arms around the boys shoulders and kissing him on the lips. "Sora, it's over now. You don't need to dwell on the past anymore. Your part is done. Just let it go, and enjoy life."  
  
But I can't......it hurts too much......it goes to deep to heal.....I can't.... He thought, but instead he forced a smile and gently ran a finger through her silky red curls. "..I'll try."  
  
"Awwwww, the little love birds need some more alone time?" A gently mocking voice cut through the morning air.  
  
Sora looked up from Kairi's eyes to see a boy a bit older then him leaning against one of the paupu trees that lined the path to the end of the cliff. He was 17, with shoulder length silver hair. His azure eyes were glimmering with cool mischief, and a confident smirk adorned his lips. He wore a black muscle shirt with the image of a dark red chinese dragon coiled upon it. He also wore baggy dark blue jeans. Around his neck he wore a chain with a black ring hanging from it. He also had wings, only they were jet black, folded upon his back.   
  
Sora grinned. "Hey Riku. Nah, I think we're done." He said, raising to his feet and holding out a gloved hand for Kairi. She took it, and he pulled her to her feet. She giggled as he snaked an arm around her waist.  
  
Riku shook his head slightly, eyes sparkling with mirth. "Alright then, at least now I know I can get you two to tear your eyes off of each other for a second."  
  
"You're just jealous." Sora mock pouted.  
  
Riku waved a hand in dismissal. "Whatever. Anyway, a bunch of shacks on the island got kind of ruined in that storm last night."  
  
Sora groaned. "Again!? That's the third time this month!"  
  
Kairi sighed. "I'm afraid so. Wakka and Tidus volunteered to do it all themselves, but you know they'll work for maybe five minutes before they start goofing off and end up causing more harm then help."  
  
Sora chuckled, the images of what had happened last time the two blitzball players had undertook a task unsupervised.....the results had not been pretty. "Right, we'd better get there before they cause another disaster."  
  
Kairi grinned. "Right, let's get moving!"  
  
Sora smiled, and as the three friends began to head towards the beaches of Destiny Island, he felt the ache in his heart lessen, if only for a moment.

  
((Suggested music...My December by Linkin Park))  
  
** THWHAM!**  
  
Yugi Moto let out a grunt as his small, fragile body was thrown against the stone wall of his cell, sending another wave of pain through his battered and bruised body.   
  
The clang of metal against metal as the bars of his cell closed, and the hum as the energy around the bars came to life.   
  
The tri-colored haired boy groaned and attempted to sit up, trickles of crimson running from his mouth. Bruises covered his face, making it appear sickly grey. His jacket was completely torn on the back, permanently stained with blood that had leaked from the whip lashes. He was covered in dirt and grim that infected his wounds and many were infected due to this. Each movement set various wounds off and Yugi gave a whimper, giving up on attempting to sit up and just laying upon the stone floor, gritting his teeth.  
  
There was a soft golden glow and Yami materialized before him. He instantly knelt down, pulling the boy into his arms. Yugi gave a gasp of pain and Yami loosened his grip. He began to examine the wounds. With a sigh he placed his hands on a few of the smaller boys wounds and healing with what little magic he could use. "..Yugi..." He muttered softly, just enough so the boy could hear. "You have to let me help you..."  
  
The smaller boy put a hand to his mouth and coughed violently, spitting blood into his dirty palm. He shivered weakly and Yami rubbed his back. "Yami, you'd only get hurt. You know that. I don't want anyone else hurt. Your powers can't work here, our body is too weak to fight.....you'd only be hurt..."  
  
"But I'd prevent **YOU** from being hurt." Yami pointed out.  
  
Yugi looked up at the spirit and smiled weakly. "I'd rather be the one to be hurt if it meant you won't be hurt. If anyone has to be hurt it'll be me. I'm not going to allow anyone else to suffer."  
  
Yami's expression darkened slightly. "I can take more then you can, Yugi. Let me help."  
  
Yugi shook his head. "And let you get hurt? No. I won't do that. I'm not going to condemn you to anything."  
  
Yami winced. "Yugi you fool.." He shook his head. "I'm supposed to protect YOU, not the other way around! Damnit Yugi, just let me help!" He snapped.   
  
Yugi looked up at the taller boy with broken amethyst eyes."No Yami. I'm sorry. I can't let you get hurt..you.....you saw...what Jounouchi...did..."Tears began to fall from the boys eyes."H-he.......he has no choice in the matter, They have his sister, and if he doesn't obey them, they'll torture her. What happens if they take one of us away and do the same?"  
  
Yami closed his eyes, his anger diminishing as quickly as it came."I don't know Aibou." He said softly, putting his arms around his sobbing Hikari.  
  
Yugi buried his face into his darker half's jacket. "....What if we never get out? What if they all die here?"  
  
Yami took a breath. What answer could he give? He had no idea.  
  
"I don't know...."  
  
((Suggested music, either the Destiny Island music or Besaid island music))  
  
"There."Sora stated in a bored tone, waving his hand as the last board floated into place.  
  
"WHOO! That only took an hour, that's a new record!" Tidus whooped, jumping in the air.   
  
Sora looked down at the blonde, a grin coming to his face. At age fifteen, Tidus was still energetic as ever, constantly causing havoc all over the islands. "It wasn't a problem!" He said.  
  
Wakka grinned up at him, tossing his blitzball back and forth between hands. "Well, it was awesome anyway!"  
  
"But if you guys hadn't come, me n' Wakka woulda been able to do it!" Tidus grinned.  
  
"Suuureee...." Riku said with a roll of his eyes. "I doubt that. We all know Wakka's too lazy to do it, and you'd end up breaking more stuff then re-building."  
  
Tidus mock glared up at him. "Hey, that only happened once!"  
  
Riku waved a hand in dismissal, leaning back against one of the rebuilt wooden buildings.  
  
Tidus rolled his eyes, but his annoyance was quickly forgotten as Wakka threw his blitzball at his head. "ACK! Hey, watch it!" Tidus cried, grabbing the ball from the ground where it bounced to and throwing it back.  
  
"Sorry brudda!" Wakka grinned, catching the blue and white ball and throwing it back. The two began a spirited game of catch, the knock to Tidus' skull instantly forgotten.   
  
Sora shook his head, a small, sad smile coming to his lips as he watched the two play. They haven't changed at all.......  
  
Kairi looked over at the Keyblade Master from her spot upon a rock, noting her boyfriends sudden sad expression. She blinked, pushing herself gracefully from the rock and walking over to him. "Hey Sora!" She chirped.  
  
"Hey Kairi.."Sora replied, no energy in his voice.  
  
Kairi quirked her head to the side. "What's wrong?"  
  
Sora realizedwhat he had been doing and quickly pasted a smile on his face. "Huh?"  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"Sora, something is wrong. I'm your Girlfriend, I can tell." Kairi's voice was serious as periwinkle pierced sapphire.   
  
Sora looked away from her gaze. He remained silent for a moment.  
  
"Well?"  
  
"It's just....it's been....two years...you know?"  
  
"Yeah..I know...."  
  
"I..I guess I'm still hurting."  
  
"Want to talk about it?" Kairi asked, taking his hand.  
  
Sora quickly forced a grin. "Nah, I think just talking to you right now has helped already! Thanks Kairi. I'm fine, really."  
  
'Besides, I don't want to burden you with my problems.' He added mentally.  
  
"Ok..if you say so. But if you want to talk bout it, remember I'm always here for you, ok, Sora?"Kairi said with a smile.  
  
"I'm hungry..." A girl sitting on top of the shack the kids had been working on stated. She was around 19, with black short hair, and a feather in her hair like an Indian. She wore short jean shorts, and a green belly shirt. On her feet she wore combat boots. That was Yuffie.  
  
Riku blinked, looking up at her and nodding. "I guess I kinda am too." The rest of the group quickly agreed. Riku gave a wicked grin. "Okay, I say it's Sora's turn to cook."  
  
"What!?" Sora cried. "Dude, I cooked yesterday. It's your turn!"  
  
"Nuh uh! I cooked on Wednesday remember!"Riku argued.  
  
"Nuh uh!Tidus cooked that day, remember, we all threw up afterwards!"Sora countered.   
  
"Hey!"Tidus yelled but the two older boys were too absorbed in their argument to pay attention to the 15 year old.  
  
"YOU'RE COOKING!"  
  
"NO YOU ARE!"  
  
"YOU!"  
  
"YOU!"  
  
The two pressed their forehead's together, glaring into each others eyes, a challenge sparking between them, an rivalry to never be fully settled.  
  
"GUYS', guys!!!"Kairi cried, stepping between them."How about I cook instead?"  
  
"No, it's Sora's turn, Kairi!"Riku stated.  
  
"Nuh uh, it's Riku's!"  
  
Kairi sighed. She had dubbed these particular arguments "Sora Vs. Riku wars" and once one started, there was only one way to settle it...  
  
"Ok guys, how about a sparring match to settle things?"Kairi asked.  
  
"Ok fine!"Riku said, his face lighting up, and Sora's doing the same. The two began to run toward's Paupu island, where all Sora Vs. Riku matches took place.   
  
"I'm gonna cream you Sora!"Riku stated, looking over to grin at Sora. A challenge sparked between them, a grin upon Riku's face.  
  
Sora grinned back. "Bring it on!"  
  
**To Be Continued...**  
  
Well, there's my second version of chapter one. I basically rewrote everything and added some stuff.......yaaaaaaaaay.........  
  
......I'm gonna go watch Lord of The Rings movies now...  
  
**Digitaldreamer**


	3. Rainbow Dragon tsunami

~*Broken Rainbow*~  
  
By:Digitaldreamer  
  
Chapter two:Rainbow Dragon tsunami  
  
**********************************************************************************  
  
Me:Ow......my head...note to self, loud noises, long party car trips, HUGE roller coasters, lots of sugar and caffine, other junk food, loud music, friends, and Mountain Dew Live Wire, while a good combination, do not mix....  
  
Sora: She just woke up, yesterday her class went on a trip to Cedar Point......they didn't get back till 12:30....  
  
Me:*attempting to climb out of van they drove in**climbs over seats and falls face first onto floor*I'll just sleep here....  
  
Yugi: NOOOO YOU GOTTA ANSWER THE REVEIWS!!!!*hands her a bottle of Mountain Dew livewire(BUY SOME, BUY SOME NOW!!!)*   
  
Sora:You REALLY don't wanna do that, that pop is like crack/alcohol to her...  
  
Yugi:Whoops....  
  
Me:*drinks* YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!TIME TO ANSWER THE REVEIIIIIWS  
  
~Kairi-Chan~  
  
Well...if you don't wanna be left in the dark...get a night light! Ha ha, anyways...you like it? YAY! Ok, Mountain Dew livewire for you!!  
  
~Cleo~  
  
IT'Z PRINCESS CLEO!! Hee hee, ok, anyways...YES SORA MUST WIN!!  
  
Sora:I must?  
  
me: Yes you must!!  
  
Anyways, MOUNTAIN DEW LIVEWIRE FOR YOU!!!  
  
~jbeiter@rochester.rr.com~  
  
Consider your review counted!!! Ok, you gets a bottle of Mountain Dew Livewire!  
  
~Celtic Gaurdian~  
  
OH YEAH!! THATS WHERE I GOT AERO FROM! I REMEMBER!!! Heee hee, thanks for clearin' that up^^ Ok, now Yugi and Yami share a body, but Yami can come out of the body in spirit form, so he's like a goust when he shows up in the fic.  
  
~PrincessSwifty~  
  
LOL YES KILLLL THE BLINDFOLDED RI-  
  
Blindfolded guy: I AM NOT RIKU!!  
  
Me:Ok...KILL THE BLINDFOLDED-GUY-WHO-IS-NOT-RIKU!!  
  
Blindfolded-guy-who-is-not-Riku: AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!*Runs*  
  
ok, now yooooou gets......A BOTTLE OF MOUNTAIN DEW LIVEWIRE!!!!!  
  
~Cloud-123~  
  
No prob, and thanks fer the compliment...MOUNTAIN DEW LIVEWIRE FOR YOU!!!!!!  
  
~crystal-chan~  
  
How do you munch on a pixi stick? Just wondering.... LUCKY!! I still have four days of stupid seventh grade!!! Oh well, you don't get a plushie...this chapter you get A BOTTLE OF MOUNTAIN DEW LIVEWIRE!!!  
  
~Snakey~  
  
Nope...no spell check here..*sighs* Hey, wouldn't chewing on Ice cream hurt your teeth? It hurts mine. Anyways, MOUNTAIN DEW LIVEWIRE FOR YOU!!  
  
~shadow-of-hearts~  
  
Gee, I want a sora vs Riku battle too, good thing tehre's one this chapter...hopefully.....heh heh, MOUNTAIN DEW LIVE WIRE FOR YOOOOU!!!  
  
~soraoathkeeper~  
  
Yes...who will win, Riku or Sora....Sora's my fave, but I love toturing him, so no one knows who I shall make win, BWA HA HA HA HA!MOUNTAIN DEW LIVE WIRE FOR YOU!!!  
  
~orodruin~  
  
*Looks at her thing about spelling "Straight"* Eh?????????? TOOO MUCH INFROMATION FOR BRAIN!!OVERLOAD...OVERLOAD OVER-*Sparks come from brain, which has short circuted**snaps out of it*So you like this do you? Thank you very much^^ Mountain Dew Live Wire for you!!  
  
~Billy Bob Joe~  
  
Sora:*pants**sitting there, all red, sweaty, and looking about ready to drop*Stupid....chicken....how am I supposed to fight Riku like this?  
  
Chicken:*sticks out tounge and runs*  
  
Me:there there Sora..*hands Sora a water bottle*  
  
Sora:Thanks..*drinks in one gulp*  
  
Me:Ok, we'll get the chicken eventually, for now, here, Mountain Dew Live Wire for you^^  
  
~~~~~  
  
Me:OKIES, FIC TIME!!!YA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!  
  
Oh, note..  
  
/Blah/ Means Hikari talking to Yami  
  
//blah// Means Yami talking to Hikari  
  
*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************  
  
Sparring became some what of a challenge when everyone got back to destiny islands. The only person Sora was actually challenged by was Riku, and vice versa, with thair new abilties. To make up for this,everyone had to make some new rules to keep them from accidently killing each other or someone else. For one thing, Cid had taken a few gummi blocks and after crushing them, they became a transparent rubbery liquid. When this liquide was put on Sora and Rku's weapons, it hardened so it became a covering over the blades, so whenever a sparring match was held, the worst you could get from a swing of one of those weapons was a rather large bruise. When in a match, you were only allowed to use as many spells as decided at the begining of the match. If you went over this limit, you instantly lost, and thease spells were not allowed to be one hit KO things. Also, there were now two kinds of battles, ground and air. In the air, you could only touch ground once, if you touched again you instantly lost.On ground battles, you were only allowed to use your wings once. Cid had also made some bracelets that showed the kids Hit point bars, the bracelets beeped when the bar went to zero. You won if your oppenont gives in, broke a rule, or if thair hp bar went down to zero.  
  
Leon had decided to be the referee of the match. He stood on the sidelines. Sora stood on one side of the island, and Riku on the other.  
  
"Ok, this is a one on one land match, Sora (insert last name here) Vs. Riku(insert last name here) Spell use is limited to four, no time limit. The loser of this match will have to cook...god this is stupid.." Leon muttered the last part nearly unaudioably.  
  
"Sora, you can till back out right now!!"Riku called from his side of Poupu island.  
  
"I don't think so!"Sora stated.  
  
"Fine, have it your way!"  
  
"Ok..ready?"  
  
"You bet!"Both teenagers stated, holding weapons at ready.  
  
"Begin!"  
  
The two boys charged at each other at the same time. At the last second Riku jumped over Sora's keyblade and swung the hit the brunette in the back. Sora pivoted and met Riku's attack. The force knocked both back. Riku regained his balance first and charged again. Just as he was about to strike the keybearer, Sora jumped and flipped, landing an aearil swipe upon Riku's flank. Sora landed on his feet and charged at Riku, who growled and jumped to the side, causing Sora to skid to a stop and lose balance. Riku took advantage of this. He summuned dark energy into his palm and sent it slamming into Sora's exposed back. Sora cried out as the attack struck and spun around, energy flaming from his keyblade.Oh yeah, there was something you didn't do. That was use dark energy on Sora. You'd think being the Essance any elemental attack wouldn't do much damage, but for some reason Sora was especially vunarable to darkness.  
  
The wind began to pick up, and Sora spun around, flames erupting from him."Wild fire tornado!!!!"  
  
Riku's eyes widened. Ohhh...man this was gonna hurt!!! Riku flapped his wings to dodge, but he was too slow, and searing flames slammed into him.  
  
When the flames cleared, Yuffie burst out laughing."Riku, your hair's all burnt!"  
  
It was true, the ends of Riku's hair was now scorched.  
  
Riku glared at Sora."Ok, NO ONE messes with my hair!"  
  
Sora stuck his tounge out and jumped aside as Riku jumped at him, still however receiving a smack from the dragon blade.  
  
The Essance grunted and pivoted, this time using an aierel combo. Riku was knocked over.  
  
"Ha!!" Sora cried.  
  
Of course, Sora forgot Riku's counterattack and countdn't dodge before Riku's sneaker's connected with Sora's chest.  
  
"Ack!!"Sora grunted and fell over. 'Well.....it worked for Riku' Sora pulled his legs back and WHAM!!! Pulled Riku's counterattack kick on Riku.  
  
Now it was Riku who fell over again. He prepared for a counter kick, but Sora jumped out of the way and struck Riku on his way by.  
  
Riku growled and landed gracefully on his feet. Het hen decided to pull the taunt approach.He held his keyblade in block stace."C'mon Sora, can't you hit me when I'm standing still?"  
  
Sora took the bait and surged forward, and was knocked off balance by Riku's sheild. Riku took advantage and did a sliding attack.   
  
Sora grunted and charged at Riku, but Riku side stepped and trippe Sora, who..  
  
WHUMPH!!!   
  
Fell on his face in the sand.  
  
Sora growled and pulled himself up, his HP bar now in the red area. Only three more hits and he'd lose.  
  
Riku smirked. He was gonna win this one."Time to finish this!" He stated and charged.  
  
Sora was still recovering from his fall and got a full on hit in the stomach.  
  
Riku prepared for the final blow and swung!  
  
Sora jumped, landed on the flat of Riku's blade, took a small shock from landing on his opponents blade, then used the weapon as a spring board and launched into the air, spreading his wings. His keyblade began to glow. Waves started in the bay below, and water spun from the ocean and around Sora, the wind picked up, along with sand, and flames began to eerupt from Sora's body. The sun shown only on Sora for a breif moment, and then Sora floated there, glowing with light, water, earth, air, and fire energy. Then he dove stregiht down, keyblade first..  
  
"Oh crap.."Riku murmered, looking up.  
  
Sora grinned trioumphantly, rainbow flames bursting from his body and creating a glowing trail in the shapes of a chinease dragon behind him."Rainbow Dragon tsunami!"  
  
Riku braced himself.  
  
KAAAAAABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!!  
  
The energy cleared and Sora stood, panting, Riku on his knee's doing the same.  
  
Soras HP:1/2 Riku: 0  
  
"Sora wins!"Leon cried.  
  
"YES!!"Sora cried, punching the air trioumpantly. He held his hand out to Riku to help his friend up."Good game." He said with a grin."Friends?"  
  
Riku looked at the hand before taking it and standing up."Friends." He confermed.  
  
"Ok then, c'mon, I'll help you cook." Sora stated, putting an arm around his older friend.  
  
Riku grinned."Ok, but you;d better watch out, cause next time I'm gonna kick your butt!"  
  
Sora laughed."As if!"  
  
"Race you to the kitchen!"  
  
"Your on!"  
  
******************************************************************************************************************************************************************  
  
~Meanwhile~  
  
"HEY! LET ME GO YOU IMBECILES!!!"  
  
A voice rang throughout the corridoors near Yugi's cell.  
  
The multicolored haired boy got up and looked out the bars of his cell.  
  
//What is it Yugi?//Yami asked through mind link.  
  
/Well..there's someone coming down the hall....with someone else...and that someone else is screaming pretty loudly...wait, the person sounds like-/  
  
"Kaiba!!"Yugi cried as a brown haired eighteen year old was thrown into the cell across from Yugi. The eighteen year old looked at Yugi with glaring ice blue eyes, egknowlaged him with a nod, before yelling again.  
  
"YOU'D BETTER NOT HURT MOKUBA YOU BASTARDS!!!" Seto yelled again.  
  
The gaurd smirked."You really wanna see your brother?"  
  
"Yeah, I do!" Seto growled. He'd been in this place longer then most of the people here, KaibaCorp had been the first target of thease bastards. He hadn't seen Mokuba in months, and after recently attempting escape to try and find him, he was getting pretty pissed off.  
  
"Fine."The gaurd grunted and pulled Seto out of the cell again.  
  
Yugi blinked as Seto...willingly followed the gaurd.   
  
/Yami? Why is that Gaurd smirking?/  
  
//I don't think I wanna know...//  
  
*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************  
  
The blindfolded one again sat on his throne, looking at images of destiny island. He was forming a plan in his head.  
  
"Soon....Essance.....veeeery soon..."  
  
*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************  
  
~backontheislandbackontheislandbackontheislandbackontheislandbackontheislandbackontheislandbackontheislandbackontheisland~  
  
Kairi groaned. She was gonna be sick.  
  
VERY sick.  
  
Her stomach already hurt like hell.  
  
Riku and Sora had made....hamburgers....and we all know Kairi is a vegtarian. Sora and Riku had made a special burger for her...she made the mistake of eating it.  
  
Now she regretted it.  
  
Riku and Sora were full of energy.  
  
And now Riku was trying to get Sora to teach him the tsunami attack Sora had used in thair match.  
  
"Nope, it's too complicated."Sora claimed.  
  
"I can do it!"Riku cried, sounding like the younger one for once.  
  
"No! You can't do the Rainbow Dragon Tsunami...it's an essance thing. Not for you!!"  
  
"I can do it, really!!!"  
  
"Nuh uh!!"  
  
"Ya huh!"  
  
"Na uh!"  
  
"Ya huh!"  
  
"Riku, Sora, shut up!!" Leon growled, getting sick of the two bickering.  
  
Yuffie laughed.  
  
"Anyone up for Blitzball?" Geuss who.  
  
"No!" Everyone stated in unison.  
  
Sora sighed."Well, we still got a few hours before sunset, what should we do?"  
  
"I dunno........."  
  
Sora sighed again and looked up at the midday sky.  
  
FLASH!  
  
A gummi ship appeared in a flash of light in the sky. A very familair gummi ship.  
  
The ship landed on the beach and everyone ran up to it.  
  
The door opened...  
  
"Woof!!"Pluto jumped out.  
  
"UMPH!"  
  
And landed on Sora.  
  
"Heh, hey Pluto, whats up?"  
  
"Pluto, get off of him!" A voice griped.  
  
"Donald, Goofy, hey!" Sora waved from his spot on the ground.  
  
"Pluto!! Get offa him!" Donald yelled again.  
  
"Pluto, down boy!" Anotehr voice commanded.  
  
Pluto obeyed to this one and jumped off of the brunette.  
  
Sora climbed to his feet to face...  
  
"King Mickey, hey!"  
  
"Hi there Sora!"Mickey said cheerfully.  
  
Everyone greeted each other and messaed around for a little while, when King Mickey grew serious.  
  
"So, er, I geuss you'd be wondeirng why we came here?"  
  
"So we could all party and do normal stuff here?" Riku asked hopefully, though he knew that wasn't the answer.  
  
"Er no.......I came because we have a problem..."Mickey began.  
  
*******************************************************************************************************************************************************************  
  
To be countiued...  
  
Me: BWA HA HA HA! SUSPENSE! SUSPENSE!!!  
  
All: Stupid live wire!  
  
Me: WEE HEEE, TEN REVEIWS, OR NO CHAPTER THREE!  
  
Sora: Hey, that rymed..... 


	4. Wishing for a Hero

~*Broken Rainbow*~   
  
Digitaldreamer   
  
Chapter Three: Wishing for a hero  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Me: ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.........................   
  
Sora: Well, good news, live wire wore off  
  
Riku: Bad news, we have a near dead, un moving authoress on our hands, with karate class tonight..   
  
Yugi: We're as good as dead   
  
all:*nod*   
  
Me:zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......must.........answer..............reveiws.......somehow......   
  
Sora: Why is she typing when she's so tired?   
  
Me: You try to sleep when the sun is shining through your blind less windows....ugh, so It's either watch tv, or sit on the computer, both with a headache that tons of painkillers can't seem to cure.......ugh......   
  
Sora: Well that sucks   
  
Me: I'm hearing this weird thudding sound in my ears....   
  
*thud*   
  
Sora: Hey...I hear it too...   
  
*thud*   
  
Riku: It's getting louder...   
  
*THUD*  
  
All: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! IT'S LITTLE BROTHER-ZILLA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!!   
  
Little brother-zilla: CRYSTAL, I WANNA PLAY X-MEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   
  
Me: LEAVE ME ALONE!*Runs* I'M UP, I GUESS I'D ANSWER THE REVIEWS BEFORE I GET STUCK PLAYING AS NIGHTCRAWLER...EEEEEEEPPPPPPP!*Runs*  
  
~Neo~   
  
YES, SORA CAN WIN!!!!!!!! WEEEE HEEEEEEEE!!! Ok, uh.......here, Rock candy for yous   
  
~Kako~  
  
One of my better ones? I thought they was all good...ah, anyways, chocolate for you   
  
~Heartless-trinity~   
  
You HONESTLY Think I'm gonna be nice to ANYONE In this fic? *sees every fan glaring at her* Uh, uh, YOU DIDN'T HEAR THAT!!! I AIN'T GIVING AWAY NOTHING THAT HAPPENS.....And I'll be...a bit nicer...maybe................Yes, Jonouchi IS Joey's Japanese name, I prefer the Japanese names.....yes...now, cookies for you and your lovely reviews for SR Too..^^   
  
~Uuchan~   
  
COOKIES??*Begins typing as fast as possible* Ok, a bottle of root beer for the insane child   
  
~PrincessSwifty~  
  
Crap............shouldn't have givin' you that Livewire.......eerrr...here......bubble gum for your lovely review....   
  
~Kairi-chan~   
  
OOH, YOUR GONNA WRITE A FIC? GO KAIRI-CHAN! WRITE, WRITE, WRITE!!! Ok, look, I reviewed, be happy! Sugar cubes for you! ~soraoathkeeper~  
  
LOL Yes MAYBE Kairi shoulda cooked. Ok, coke for you   
  
~orodruin~   
  
-_________________- Ok, shut up about the spelling thing, ja? I got a beta-reader...ok...happy now?*huggle's Shadow-of-hearts and her lovly spellcheack* I will HOPEFULLY Be getting a spell check soon though.......hopefully...*glares at dad, who says "I'll install it TOMORROW."* Ah yes, anyways, chocolate cookie for you  
  
~Celtic Guardian~  
  
MWA HA HA HA! YES, I WILL LEAVE YOU ALL THERE!!!!!!!!!! MWA HA HA HA!!! COOKIE FOR YOU!   
  
~Cleo~  
  
YES SORA IS THE CUTEST! Well, get ready to feel more sorry for Kaiba because......wait, why am I telling you? JUST READ! Here, popcorn for you!!   
  
~shadow-of-hearts~  
  
Ah don't worry, Kaiba will be off your tail in a minute.....heh heh heh*laughs evilly* Okies, A water balloon gun to use on Kaiba for you!   
  
~Ari-Powwel~   
  
OK, OK I UPDATED! Jeez...there are WAY too many Riku fans out there.....ok, chocolate for you!   
  
~Cloud-123~   
  
LOOK, CHAPTER FOUR! COOKIE FOR YOU!!   
  
~~~~   
  
Me:*breathing heavily, hiding in her pillow fortress*Ok.....CHAPTER TIME!! ****************************************************************************** **************  
  
"So, er, I guess you'd be wondering why we came here?"   
  
"So we could all party and do normal stuff here?" Riku asked hopefully, though he knew that wasn't the answer.   
  
"Er no.......I came because we have a problem..."Mickey began.  
  
Kairi closed her eyes.' No....not again..' She thought.   
  
"What kind of problem?"Sora asked, slight edge in his voice.  
  
Thunder rumbled, and it began to rain. "Um, maybe we should go inside and then talk, eh?"Yuffie said, gesturing towards one of the buildings.  
  
"Uh, yeah, good idea!!"Sora agreed.  
  
Everyone trudged inside, just as it began to pour.  
  
"Ok, what's going on here?" Sora asked the king after they'd all gotten inside, and Yuffie had been nice enough to make hot chocolate ("Don't get used to it" she had said.)  
  
King Mickey pulled something out of his pocket. It was a golden orb, with markings all over it. Mickey pressed a button and the orb hummed, whirred, and changed shape, then opened to reveal a hologram. It showed billions of stars, and a huge, central glowing orb at the center of a cluster of stars. There were many clusters, with many central orbs.  
  
"Ok, look, You know Kingdom Hearts is the heart of all worlds right."  
  
"Well, yeah, we sat through Ansem's lecture, remember?"Sora replied.   
  
"Yes, anyways. Kingdom Hearts is the heart of all worlds. Or at least, all the worlds in this dimension." Mickey pointed to a central area, with a glowing center. He placed a finger on the glowing center to reveal a close up of Kingdom Hearts. "When you sealed Kingdom Hearts, you permanently made it so no darkness could be present in this area. Or, at least, you made it so no darkness could originate from that area anymore. However, another evil has begun to manifest..."Mickey pushed another button, and half of the star clusters' turned black.  
  
Sora looked at the king quizzically."The heartless again? That's impossible, I destroyed every last one of them, permanently sealed every world, sealing Kingdom Hearts, got captured, destroyed all the bad dudes a second time, and got killed three times through the whole damn thing!!!" Sora was shaking slightly now. He didn't want to have to face some other evil. He didn't want to deal with it anymore. He was sick of fighting, sick of being the hero, sick of being the target of every freak out there. Sick of it all.   
  
"No, not the heartless Sora. A different evil."   
  
"That can't be, I would have sensed it."  
  
"Even your sense's only go so far Sora, since your still growing, your sense's right now only extend in this dimension, therefore you can't sense the darkness."The king explained.   
  
"How do you know all this. I mean, how do you know there are other dimensions. Why didn't you tell me before this thing began, I could have stopped it before it began."   
  
"Because I didn't know until yesterday. Yesterday this black things just appeared through a hole in space and time, and started attacking us. A few humans appeared too, and they sent monsters at us. One of them dropped this, and that's how I figured all this out."  
  
"Waaait....don't tell me, I gotta stop em right?"  
  
"Sora, I wasn't finished yet. The things that appeared didn't do anything. They came up to me and asked something."   
  
The Essence of Heart paled visibly. Somehow, he already knew what they'd said, but he asked anyway,"What did they say?"  
  
"Where is the Essence?"   
  
****************************************************************************** ****   
  
*meanwhile....*   
  
Seto Kaiba followed the guard's down the long hallway, ignoring the pitiful plea's of the prisoners he passed. Seto already had practice in this department, ignoring the press and fans as he walked to Kaiba corp., so it was no big deal to him.  
  
Or at least, that's what he told himself.   
  
The guard's finally stopped in front of a pair of large, black jeweled silver double doors. The doors opened. Seto walked in, after the guards.   
  
Seto walked into the same room Yugi had been hauled into a few hours earlier. Before the throne lay a chained, beaten, and bleeding boy. His long, slightly below shoulder-length black hair was matted and messy.  
  
"Mokuba!!"Seto cried and rushed towards his little brother, sweeping the younger boy into his arms.  
  
"Seto?"Mokuba asked weakly, opening his sapphire eyes.  
  
"Yeah, It's me."  
  
"Seto...I'm so glad to see you...I don't think I'm gonna make it.."  
  
"What? Mokuba no...you have to get up. C'mon, we're gonna bust out of here, and we'll go back to Kaiba Corp, and you'll stop me from killing Yugi, and I'll make new gadgets, and...and...oh please, Mokuba..." Seto pleaded, no longer sounding like his cold, icy self, and more like the child self he had lost long ago.  
  
"What's this, the great Seto Kaiba is actually pleading? Pfff, and over something so weak as this weak excuse for a life? Pffftt...pathetic." A man stood up on the thrown and walked towards the brothers, hood overshadowing his face.   
  
"Shut up, you bastard. What have you done to him?"Seto growled, standing up, his voice returning to it's normal tone.  
  
"Oh merely gave him what he deserved. 'Leave me alone! You can't touch me! When my brother finds you, he's gonna kill you! My brother is the CEO of Kaiba Corp! My brother this, My brother that...'" The hooded figure mocked, in an overly high voice. "Well, Seto Kaiba, he probably wouldn't have been hurt so much if you had obeyed."  
  
"Shut your trap! I'm out of here!"Seto growled, and began walking out.  
  
He ran into a force field.   
  
"Not yet, I still have some business with the little one." The hooded man gestured, and Mokuba glowed with dark energy, the younger Kaiba screamed.   
  
"Mokuba!"Seto cried."Stop it!! Leave him alone!" He demanded of the hooded killer.  
  
"What's that, you want more?" The hooded figure closed his hand into a fist.  
  
Slowly, Mokuba began to choke, his throat being crushed by an unseen force. The little boys world was growing dark, until all he could see was his brother, who was beginning to cry.  
  
"See your brother now, little one? Look at him. Pathetic, isn't it. He couldn't save you. He failed, and now you will pay the price." The hooded man sneered.   
  
"Goodbye....Seto.."Mokuba whispered weakly, and then his eyes closed. Never again to open, never to see the light of day, and never to witness the changes of the world.  
  
"Mokuba!!"Seto cried, and hugged his little brother's cold, lifeless body. Sobs racked the CEO's body, and he fell to his knees, sobbing.   
  
"Seto Kaiba."The hooded guy said, walked up to Seto.  
  
"Kill me...."Seto whispered."Just kill me. I have nothing left. Mom and Dad died a long time ago, and now Mokuba's gone, I swore I'd protect him."   
  
The hooded figure grinned coolly. Seto Kaiba was broken."Then join me. If you have nothing left, join me, and you'll have something."   
  
Seto didn't reply. "Ok, I'll just give you some time to think about it....Guards, take him to his cell." The hooded figure said with a cold, careless wave of his hand, kicking aside the body the cold body of Mokuba Kaiba, from his elder brother's hands.   
  
****************************************************************************** **************  
  
*Back at Yugi's Cell*  
  
/Yami, they're coming back./  
  
//Oh joy, more of the great Seto Kaiba...//  
  
/Yami!/  
  
//Sorry....//   
  
Yugi sighed./Yami, just because Kaiba has a grudge against us doesn't mean you have to hold one back.../  
  
//Yeah, so?//   
  
Yugi rolled his eyes mentally./Whatever, let's just see what happened to Kaiba....and Mokuba, for that matter./   
  
Seto merely walked into his cell, head down, shoulder's shaking.   
  
"Seto??"Yugi asked softly, Yami appearing by his side."Are you ok??"  
  
"Mokuba......"Seto whispered."He's........he's......he's dead...That freak killed him right in my arms."   
  
"Oh...no.."Yugi said, eyes growing wide."That can't be true!"  
  
"It is.....I have nothing else to live for...I wish I was dead."Seto said, broken, icy blue eyes full of tears.  
  
"No, don't give up Seto!! Everything will be ok, just don't give in to them!"Yugi pleaded.  
  
"What's the point Yugi? Why don't you give in. You have nothing. Those friends of yours are giving in one by one. What happens when one day Honda is the one leading you to your cell, or Jonouchi is the one slapping you around." Kaiba paused, taking in a breath and saying slowly. "What happens when Anzu dies in your arms, because you didn't submit to the 'master' like a good dog? What happens then, eh, King of games?" Seto demanded, spitting the title out like a curse word.   
  
Yugi closed his eyes."I don't know Seto. But I know even then I won't give up."  
  
"Why then? Even when you lose everything?"  
  
"Even then, I still have my hope. Because I know they can't keep us forever. Someday, someone is going to come and save us."  
  
"Like back at Pegasus's castle, eh Yugi? Your just going to wait, your only hope's resting in the hands of some imaginary hero. Well, go ahead, Yugi, but I'm not going to stand here and wait."Seto stated, voice icey. "You sit here and wait, meanwhile, I'll be out, conquering worlds." With that Seto fell silent and glared at the wall.  
  
****************************************************************************** ************   
  
*Destiny Islands, three hours later*  
  
Sora again was perched at Essence Point, looking out at the ocean, colored orange, pink, light violet, and blue to match the beautiful sunset.   
  
*flashback*  
  
"Sora, we don't have a choice in the matter, you're the only one who can stop these things."Leon had protested after Mickey had finished his lecture.  
  
"But they're after me!! I'm not up for a Deja Vu of Hallow Bastion!"Sora cried.   
  
"Well, with your powers you shouldn't be worried!"   
  
"Well I am! I'm sick of being the hero! Sick of always having to suffer through everything, and usually ultimately in the end lose everything for a ton of other people! I'm sick of being the Essence! Sick of being the keybearer!"  
  
"But the keyblade is like a gift! You should be happy about it!" "You would think that, wouldn't you Leon? Look, it's not a gift. It's a curse."  
  
Leon glared dangerously at the boy. Yeah, Sora had a right to be freaked, but this was getting ridiculous. To Leon, Sora was like the little brother he never had. And it was ticking him off seeing his 'little brother' acting so childish. "Sora, how can you even think that? Look what the keyblade has brought you, good friends, admiration, it's brought your island back, twice now, and-"   
  
"You forgot about a million heartless to fight."Sora added, looking Leon in the eyes.   
  
Leon stood to his feet and walked over to the boy, eyes narrowed and jaw clenched. "Which WE helped destroy, you weren't alone during that Sora, you have no right to complain."  
  
Sora also stood."Oh yes I do! Would YOU wanna go rushing into another fight, after what I've been through. You weren't there when I was stuck at Hallow Bastion. You weren't the one who suffered. You weren't the one who's died TWICE, and YOU aren't the one who is going to be scarred for life!" Sora stabbed a finger at Leon's chest. "Yeah, I think I have a right to be a bit freaked."   
  
Leon closed his eyes, trying to calm down. He felt like hitting the teen, but that wouldn't solve anything. "Look Sora. Like it or not, it's what you were meant to do. It's your job to be the hero."   
  
"What if I don't want to be?"Sora asked, and turned on his heel, walked out, and slammed the door behind him.  
  
*end flashback*  
  
Sora sighed. He knew he was being selfish. But he didn't want to do this."Why me?"He demanded of the sky."Why is it always me? Why not someone else? Why can't fate find someone else to be the playing piece? Why is it always me???"   
  
His only answer came in silence.   
  
****************************************************************************** ***************  
  
TBC  
  
Me: Ah yes, zero humor this time. Ah well, people, if your mad about Mokuba being dead, lets see if I give a crap.......nope, I don't give a crap. Yeah, SO READ AND REVIEW! 


	5. Some things arn't that simple

~*Broken Rainbow*~  
  
By: Digitaldreamer  
  
Chapter Four: Some things aren't that simple  
  
******************************************************************************  
  
Me:*Whistles innocently as many fans glare at her* OK I'M SORRY ABOUT KILLING MOKUBA!!! I don't hate him, I just needed him dead for later on in the fic, really!  
  
Seto:*glares hatefully at Crystal*  
  
Me: Shuddup.  
  
Seto: I didn't say anything.  
  
Me: *rolls eyes* Anyways, people, trust me, the killing of Mokuba is one of the more gentler scene's in this fic. I plan on making this fic even worse then Shadow Revenge.  
  
Cast: We're doomed.............  
  
Me: No, you'll just wish you were dead.  
  
Cast:*groan*  
  
Me: Oh...and guess what? WE HAVE REACHED THE 50 REVIEW MARK, WHOOT!  
  
~Snakey~  
  
Yes....Sora ish different, actually, he sort of acted like this for 4 seconds during the game...I think...here, giant chocolate chip cookie fer' you!  
  
~Jade Star~  
  
Okies, lookies, I countiues! Here, a Popsicle for you(love your name by the way......so cool...)  
  
~crystal-chan~  
  
*hug's chocolate*I will......Ok...more angst, trust me, I think you might actually get more then you can handle later on.....anyways, A nerds plushie for you^^  
  
~Yuna804~  
  
Ok, stop dissing Sora, ya? Yes, I DO mean for him to act kind of self-centered right now. And, since this fic IS kind of centered at Sora, I'm NOT going to send someone else. And no, you can't have Sora's keyblade. Now here is a lollipop...go and read.  
  
~kkk~  
  
Look, this is an ANGST fic....full of SADNESS, DEPRESSION, TORTURE, AND DEATH.....you OBVIOUSLY Haven't read Shadow Revenge, because if you had, you wouldn't have been stupid enough to even suggest that I not kill anyone. That's just how I type fics. On the bright side, I tend to leave Riku alone. His fangirls won't allow his torment. here, a Riku cookie for you.  
  
~PrincessSwiftly~  
  
Wow, Riku actually didn't say anything in that chapter did he? Whoops....eh heh, ah well, he gets big part this chapter, happy? Giant bag of sugar cubes for you.  
  
~Kairi-chan~  
  
Oh sorry, that was kind a cruel of me wasn't it? Eh, sorry^^;; Here, Popsicle for you.  
  
~Orodruin~  
  
Ah its ok about the spelling thing, and it was better cause shadow-of-hearts is my beta reader now! Isn't she nice? Yeah, anyways, a bottle of Root beer for you^^  
  
~Kako~  
  
Uh..thankies^^ Sugar cubes for you^^  
  
~Heartless-trinity~  
  
Damn, now I'm actually starting to feel kind a guilty about killing Mokuba off after watching the latest YGO.......ah anyways, thank you for the prettyful review.....SUGAR CUBES FOR YOU!  
  
~Cloud-123~  
  
Uh..ok....look at my update......  
  
~Cleo~  
  
MWA HA HA HA...unfortunately...to torment of Kaiba is pretty much over...darn it...I was having fun....  
  
~soraoathkeeper~  
  
Yes, ignorance IS bliss......here, sugar cubes for you.  
  
~Celtic Gaurdian~  
  
Yes..that was....*hands you a bowl of popcorn*Now read the fic  
  
~Neo~  
  
Your welcomes for the rock candy! Now go read chapter four!  
  
~~~  
  
Disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts it would be a whole lot more bloodier, and if I owned YGO I'd make Duke Devilain use something bedside's Dice as a   
  
weapon, seeing as they REALLY don't hurt that much...  
  
Sora:*throw's die at Crystal*  
  
Me: OW!  
  
******************************************************************************  
  
Sora remained staring out at the ocean, even when it became dark. He sighed. Everyone had tried to talk to him but he wouldn't listen."I'm not gonna do it. Not again. They can find someone else, I'll gladly give up the job." He   
  
looked up at the stars.  
  
"Do you hear me??? I'm not coming up there! I'm staying here! That's right, I'm not gonna save the day, for once!"He cried at the stars, who just shimmered back at him.  
  
"Oh shut up....."  
  
****************************************************************************************************************************  
  
Riku sighed darkly, shifting his dragon blade in his gloved hands.  
  
Kairi looked out at Essence Point, where Sora sat, glaring at the sea.  
  
"Someone should go talk to him......"She said, fingering the crown necklace Sora had given her two years ago. It was singed, dented in a few places, yet it still shined.  
  
"Why should we? If Sora's gonna sit and sulk like a little kid, let him."Leon snapped, his flaming wings still flared from his previous argument with the boy.  
  
"Yeah, you can't really push him into doing anything now...."Yuffie said directly.  
  
Donald sighed."I guess the guy's finally lost it..."  
  
"Yup, we're sunk."Goofy murmured.  
  
Riku remained silent, cold aqua eyes shining with an emotion no one could place.  
  
"Its over......"Leon declared darkly.  
  
"No its not! We shouldn't be giving up on Sora!"Kairi declared, jumping to her feet."He's still strong, he's just hurt....."She pulled the bent, dented, burnt, yet still shining necklace from her neck, and held it for all to see."He's like this necklace...Riku, you remember when Sora first got it."  
  
Riku nodded but said nothing.  
  
"It was shiny and new, over time it got older, and endured a few scrapes, but it came through. Now it's old and bent, but it still shines, see? Sometimes if you leave it for awhile, it gets dirty and rusty, and it refuses to shine. But when that happens..."Kairi used the hem of her shirt to rub the pendent, and then it was shinier, more defined, prettier, like it used to be."You just have to use the right thing to get it to shine again. You get what I'm saying?"  
  
Yuffie raised an eyebrow."Your saying we should rub Sora with your shirt?"  
  
Kairi rolled her eyes."No, I'm saying we just got to talk him out of this funk...."She looked directly at Riku, and everyone's gaze followed. The silver haired boy looked up.  
  
"What?"He demanded."You want me to talk to him?"  
  
"No, do ya think?"Yuffie said sarcastically.  
  
" Why can't Kairi go and talk to him!" he shot a look at Kairi." After all she's his girlfriend!"  
  
Kairi shook her head sadly. " He won't listen to my anymore, Riku. He needs his best friend."  
  
Riku raised an eyebrow."What makes you think I'll do better then his girl friend?"  
  
Kairi smiled."No one else has known him since he was...how old was it?"  
  
"One and a half."Riku responded.  
  
"Right. Who else gave him the strength to keep going in that fight with Ansem?"  
  
"Uh, the keyblade?"  
  
"No, you, silly!"She said with a giggle."You guys have always been there for each other. When ever one's down, the other comes and picks him up. Whenever one of you is acting up, its the other that brings him back down to earth. I may be his girlfriend, but your his best friend. If anyone can pull this off, it's you."  
  
Leon raised an approving eyebrow at this speech. 'Ok, I officially no longer think the kid has a bad taste in girls.' He thought.  
  
Riku stared at Kairi for a few more seconds before sighing in defeat.  
  
"Fine.... I'll go talk to the spike head....." he mumbled and started to walk out when Leon grabbed his arm.  
  
"Don't make it worse Riku.." he cautioned  
  
.  
  
Riku nodded."I won't."  
  
******************************************************************************  
  
~backtoYugiandYamibacktoYugiandYamibacktoYugiandYamibacktoYugiandYamibacktoYugiandYamibacktoYugiandYamibacktoYugiandYami~  
  
Yami lay on his bed in his soul room, staring edgily at the wall. His bed was designed like the one he had in Egypt. Recently he had began to regain his memories, when he regained them, he'd started constructing a central room that looked abit like his chamber's as Pharaoh had looked like. The result was quite interesting. This was the good part of the deal when it came to getting the memories back. The bad part was quite a few of the memories he was starting to wish had staying hidden from him.  
  
Yami was REALLY beginning to hate this. "I promised to protect my hikari, and he won't let me protect him! True, I can just force him to stay in the puzzle and let me take over, but then I'd be just like the stupid Tomb   
  
robber." He pulled out a dart he'd burrowed from Yugi's room and threw it at a carving of Yami Bakura in the wall.  
  
Yami sighed. He would bash his head against the wall, but that didn't really work when stone walls were involved.(it's quite true, I bashed my head against the gym brick wall once, the result was not pretty)  
  
He finally got really bored and pulled out something he'd been writing since he and Yugi got stuck in this hell.  
  
~*Yami's to-do-list after I get out of this hell-hole*~  
  
1.Kill that stupid tomb robber  
  
2.Bring the tomb robber back to life so I can kill him again.  
  
3.Bring him back again so I can send him to the shadow realm and laugh. Oh how I will laugh.  
  
4.Kill the Maliks.  
  
5.Shout "NA NA NA NA!" At their bloody corpses.  
  
6. Bring them back so I can send them to the shadow realm.  
  
7.Laugh some more.  
  
8.Explain to Aibou why Malik and Y.Bakura seem to be missing (I'll tell him they went on vacation to Antarctica! Yeah! That'll work!)  
  
  
  
9. Bring back the Tomb Robber so he can steal Seto's money.  
  
10. Send Tomb Robber to the shadow realm again.  
  
11.Laugh at Seto's now sorry existence.....  
  
12.Kill Seto if he attempts to even TOUCH Aibou EVER again.  
  
13.Kill the freaking Hooded guy.  
  
14. Use the Millennium rod that was formerly Malik's to erase the minds of the police so they never find out.  
  
15.Laugh because all of the annoying people are gone.  
  
Yami nodded at his list. Satisfied in knowing Malik, Bakura, Seto, and the Hooded guy were going to suffer eventually, he decided to see how Yugi was doing.  
  
Yami opened the door to his Soul room and entered the hallway that separated his room from Yugi's. Down the hall you took control of the body, and down the other way was a special room he and Yugi had made, which was a combination of the two rooms. Yugi's soul room, full of plushies, innocent games, puzzles, and soft colors was empty. Yami headed toward the combined room. It had a really neat big screen TV where you could see what was happening outside, there were a few plushie's from Yugi's room, a few more serious things from Yami's room, several bean bags and a huge couch. Yugi lay on the couch, sleeping peacefully for once.  
  
Yami smiled and sat down gently by his Hikari, pushing some of the smaller teen's bangs out of his face.  
  
"He's so innocent...Ra, how could those jerks want to hurt him like this?"The former Pharaoh wondered aloud. "How could anyone want to hurt him."  
  
Yami got a bit annoyed when the walls wouldn't answer, so he grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. "Nothing going on outside..."He observed."Maybe I'll see what's going on the memory channel."( Don't we ALL want a TV like that?)  
  
Click  
  
~flashback~  
  
Yami was currently attempting something so daring, so incredibly dangerous, he had asked everyone to leave the room. No, he wasn't going to perform ancient magic. No, he wasn't creating a model of the tomb robber so he could destroy it. This was something much, much, worse...  
  
Yami was trying to cook.  
  
The former Pharaoh glowered at the evil monster known as the Oven."Today is the day I will conquer you..."Yami declared, pulling the frozen pepperoni pizza from it's box. He slowly reached for the oven door.  
  
"I'd better be careful......this is a dangerous monster....if I'm not quick....it could ANNIHILATE ME with it's flame breath of doom!"Yami said aloud. He quickly opened up the door, and braced himself for the painful blast of flames. It never came. He looked."Phew....."He placed the pizza in and quickly closed the door. He waited.  
  
And waited.  
  
He opened the door again.   
  
Nope, pizza still looked the same.   
  
He closed the door.  
  
He opened it again.   
  
Nope.  
  
Close.  
  
Open.  
  
Not done pizza.  
  
Close.  
  
Open.  
  
Not done Pizza.  
  
"DAMN IT! I AM THE GREAT PHARAOH OF EGYPT, YOU WILL OBEY ME OVEN!! COOK THIS PIZZA NOW BEFORE I SEND YOU TO THE FREAKING SHADOW REALM!!!!!!" Yami howled, the dark cloud of the shadow realm beginning to appear above him.  
  
Yugi ran in."Uh...Yami................."  
  
The cloud dissipated."Uh...yes Yugi?"  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"Cooking...."  
  
Yugi walked up."You do realize, in order to cook something, the oven has to be on."He said, switching the oven on.  
  
"YUGI WATCH OUT!"Yami dove and knocked the smaller teen to the floor, then cautiously shut the oven door with a slam.  
  
"Yami, what was that about?"Yugi asked.  
  
"I WAS PROTECTING YOU FROM THE EVIL FLAME BREATH OF THE OVEN MONSTER!"Yami declared.  
  
Just then Jonouchi walked in to see Yami holding Yugi to the floor and eyeing the oven with a hateful glare.  
  
"Uh.................guys?"  
  
Yami and Yugi looked up."Yes?"  
  
Yami banged his head on the oven again.  
  
"Ok...........I'll come back later..."Jono said and slowly backed out of the kitchen.  
  
Yugi pulled himself up."Uh....I'll go with him!"  
  
~15 minutes later~  
  
Yami walked into the living room carrying a only partially burnt pizza."BEHOLD, I HAVE.....COOKED!!"  
  
Honda raised an eyebrow."Uh.......Yami?"  
  
"Yes Honda? Don't you believe I am the greatest cook alive!"Yami said.  
  
"Uh....putting a frozen pizza into the oven doesn't really count as cooking......."Honda said slowly.  
  
"YES IT DOES! I CONQUERED THE GREAT OVEN MONSTER!"Yami declared.  
  
"Yami...the oven is an inanimate object."Ryou said.  
  
Yami blinked."It is?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Oh......"  
  
~end flashback~  
  
Yami rolled his eyes. Ah yes, his old cooking escapade.  
  
The former Pharaoh yawned. He might as well get some sleep.  
  
He closed his eyes.  
  
******************************************************************************  
  
Seto looked down at the floor, his icy blue yes even colder then before. He tromped down the hall after the guards.  
  
Again, he entered the throne room.  
  
"Ah, hello Seto Kaiba."The hooded figure said, standing up from his throne.  
  
Seto said nothing.  
  
"Have you made your decision yet, Mr. Kaiba?"The hooded one inquired, walking toward the chestnut haired teen.  
  
The teen closed his eyes. 'Might as well Kaiba. There's nothing left worth fighting for anyway.' Seto Kaiba bowed. "I am yours...master.."  
  
Again, the hooded one nodded in approval."Alright. This a good thing. I could use a general of your powers. You own the god card of Oblisk, am I correct?"  
  
Kaiba looked up."How did you know that, master?"  
  
The hooded figure snorted."No need to call me master, Seto."He placed a hand underneath the boy's chin and made him face him."We're friends now, yes?"  
  
Seto gulped."Of course."  
  
The hooded figure smiled."Then call me by my name."  
  
"What is your name?"  
  
The hooded figure pulled off his hood to reveal shoulder length silver hair. His eye's were covered by a black blindfold.(three bucks says his eyes are sea-green)  
  
"Just call me Riku."  
  
******************************************************************************  
  
~backatdestinyislandsbackatdestinyislandsbackatdestinyislandsbackatdestinyislandsbackatdestinyislandsbackatdestinyislands~  
  
"Sora!"Riku's voice broke through Sora's depressing thoughts. He looked up.  
  
"Yeah Riku?"He asked in a drained voice.  
  
"Sora, turn around so I can talk to you, would you?"  
  
Sora turned around to face his best friend, a defiant expression on his face. Riku stood there, black wings flared, Aqua-blue eyes calm yet un-yielding.  
  
"Look, if your going to tell me I should fight, I'm going to say no right now. I shouldn't have to."Sora declared.  
  
Riku raised an eyebrow."Oh really? Yeah, that's true, you shouldn't have to. Let me guess, next you'll say you shouldn't have the keyblade right? Next you'll say your sick of being the hero, right?"  
  
Sora raised an eyebrow right back."Yeah, that's right. Now go away."  
  
"No. I won't. You know why? Because you have to be the hero. Like it or not."Riku said, walking up to Sora so his height difference really showed.  
  
"That's too bad, because I'm done. No more being Hero for me. I don't want to be. So leave me alone."Sora growled, pushing Riku back slightly.  
  
Riku's eyes narrowed."Sora..."Riku warned, his voice becoming dangerous.  
  
"Leave me alone Riku, I'm not being the hero again, I'm not facing darkness again, and I'm not going to listen to you."He snarled, and began to walk away, turning his back to the silver-haired teen.  
  
"Sora, this is for your own good."  
  
Sora turned around angrily to see a black gloved fist aimed for his right   
  
cheek.  
  
BAM!  
  
Sora fell onto his butt from the unexpected blow and placed a hand on his burning cheek. He groaned in pain and looked up into the angered yet calm aqua-blue eyes of his best friend."What was that for????????" He demanded.  
  
Riku crossed his arms."That was for being a self centered jerk."  
  
When Sora just blinked up at him Riku continued."Ok, look, you're acting like a self centered jerk. Yes, it is justified for you to be a bit scared. I would be too. But the way you're acting is totally unjustified, you're acting like such a big baby. What happened to the old Sora I used to know? The one who never backed down from a challenge, the one who was always there for his friends? The one who didn't sulk or pout? The one that never-cared about his own well being, so long as his friends were safe?"Riku took a breath."What happened to Sora the hero?"  
  
Sora looked away, ashamed at himself."He's gone...that Sora's gone. He's not coming back."  
  
"Well, what made him go away?"Riku demanded.  
  
Sora looked up at Riku again."Don't you know, Riku? Don't you remember?"  
  
"Of course I remember Sora."Riku shook his head."The thing is, I don't think you fully remember."  
  
Sora got to his feet, hands clenched into fists."What are you talking about?" He demanded."I remember it all! I remember it better then you ever will, and it's because of that that I'm not going to fight."  
  
"Oh really. Because it seems to me like you never took it right. You've shut away, You haven't accepted what happened, you never got over it, you pushed the memories away, locked them in a distant part of your mind, but since you haven't accepted what's happened and moved on, it keeps eating away at you."  
  
"Well......" 'Damn it, I hate it when he's right.' Sora thought. Sora sat there, contemplating what Riku had just said. He finally sighed in defeat."What should I do then, Riku?"He asked, looking down.  
  
There was a sorrowful pause, then.  
  
"I'm sorry Sora."  
  
SHING!  
  
Sora looked up just in time to summon the Essence keyblade into his hand and block Riku's dragon blade, which he noticed with slight fear that Cid's block that made it safe was off. It also glowed.  
  
He pulled himself to his feet just as Riku pulled his blade back and held it in fighting stance.  
  
"Riku, what are you doing?? I asked you for help!" Sora cried.  
  
Riku's eyes were sorrowful, but he remained strong."It may not seem like it, but I am helping you."  
  
Sora's eyes widened."But I thought you were just going to talk to me."  
  
"I wish that was the way it worked, Sora...but..."Riku shook his head."Some   
  
things aren't that simple."  
  
Then he charged.  
  
******************************************************************************  
  
To Be continued.  
  
Me: Oooooooo Cliffe!  
  
Sora:*Dodging Riku* AHH, RIKU WHY THE HECK ARE YOU ATTACKING ME?  
  
Riku: I don't know, ask her!*points to Crystal*  
  
Me: HA! I ain't tellin, your gonna have to wait for next chappie!  
  
Beta Reader: Let's all hope it doesn't take you as long *glares*  
  
Riku: WHEN DID YOU GET HERE!?  
  
Beta Reader: Oh be quiet....go do.....Something...  
  
Me:Oooookaaaaaay...........  
  
OK, read and review people! 


	6. A lesson learned by loss

~*Broken Rainbow*~  
  
By: Digitaldreamer  
  
Chapter five: A lesson learned by loss  
  
*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************  
  
Me: ARGH! NOOOO.......IT'S AUGUST ALREADY!  
  
Cast: NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  
  
Me: I've barely been able to enjoy my summer! I DON'T WANNA GO BACK TO SCHOOL!  
  
Jono: Yeah, school is evil!  
  
Sora:*nods*  
  
Me: Sora, how would you know, I don't think you even go to school.  
  
Sora: Oh yeah..........I forgot.....  
  
Riku:*sweat drop*  
  
Ryou fangirls: WE WANT RYOU! WE WANT YAMI BAKURA!  
  
Me: Gah, ok, you'll get them, I promise I'll show you what's happening with them in the chappie!  
  
Ryou fangirls:*rejoice*  
  
Me: Ok, to the reviews!  
  
~Bilbo-san~  
  
You actually LIKE Mokuba?*eyes go wide*.......ooookaaaaaay....Oh, here's a pizza^^  
  
~Orodruin~  
  
Don't worry, the Seto factor will be addressed a bit this chapter. ^^ Here, cookie for you^^  
  
~Juliana Cleo~  
  
Sank you^^ Chocolate for you!  
  
~Jade Star~  
  
I hope you don't get mad about this chapter, cause there's A LOT of Yu-Gi-Oh in it!*hides* here's a cookie, don't kill me!  
  
~FlikFreak~  
  
WHOOT! SORA PLUSHIE!*Glomps plushie*  
  
Ohhh, you take Judo? Neat! I take karate! A chocolate bar fer you! On with the chappie!  
  
~Celtic Guardian~  
  
Yes, who knew Yami hated Ovens? Yami, how could you!  
  
Yami:.......shut up...  
  
Anyways, giant Oreo for you.  
  
~Snakey~  
  
Wow! My fics original! WHOOT! Ok, here ya go, chocolate for you.  
  
~PrincessSwifty~  
  
Heh, Thanks^^ I'm glad ya thought the Yami thing was funny, I loved writing it.   
  
And ack, Sora's gonna pull a Koji?????? AHHH!*Writes fast* Here, More Mountain Dew fer' the Princess.  
  
~Cloud-123~  
  
Ok...updated...here, chocolate for you.  
  
~Kako~  
  
Well, why wouldn't you laugh over the bodies? Ok, stupid question, chocolate   
  
milk for you^^  
  
~windflame~  
  
Ah, tis ok. WOOT, YOU LIKE THIS FIC? YAY! A rice crispy treat for you^^  
  
~Ari Powwel~  
  
Ok, first off, I find it pretty stupid of you to be picking the damn grammar thing out of the fic, especially since you messed up yourself by saying:  
  
"That just was nagging at me to be said . . . it kept saying "TELL IT . . .   
  
TEL IT . . "  
  
*cough* It's TELL....with TWO 'L's, Not one......jeez, before you correct other people's spelling and grammar, work on your own. And a mistake is   
  
gonna happen, me and my beta reader do the best we can, ok?  
  
Ok, enough of that, I don't feel like starting a fight. Anyways, yes, you shall be seeing Ryou...and how dare you be happy Riku's gonna beat Sora up?*sees fans glaring at her*YOU DIDN'T HEAR THAT, wait....DAMN IT THIS IS IN TYPING....AUUUUUGHHH...here, Mountain Dew for you.  
  
~LadyLobomon Warrior of Shadow~  
  
X_x that is ONE LONG NAME....bloody good chapter? When did you become British? Uh, ok, Nice, tasty Wonder ball for you^^  
  
~crystal-chan~  
  
*sweat drops* Ok.........your just a wee bit too obsessed with this angst thing......yeah....here, ice cream for you^^  
  
~Kairi-chan~  
  
MWA HA HA No one saw the double Riku's coming! MWA HA HA HA! Ok...chocolate chip cookie for you.  
  
~Heartless-trinity~  
  
HA, YOUR CONFUSED! I LAUGH AT YOU, HA HA HA HA...oh, bye the way, if you want more Riku action, I made a one shot Riku fic, yeah, it's a songfic, but I worked forever on it...yeah......anyways, chocolate for you!  
  
~~~  
  
Me: k, chapter time!  
  
Disclaimer: *Gets mega ego boost* *jams Caps lock* YES, I DO not OWN KINGDOM HEARTS AND YU GI OH! ALL THIS KAWAII CHARACTERS ARE not MINE! MWA HA HA!!!!! I'M not BETTER THEN YOU SQUARE SOFT! YOU WILL not NEVER CONTROL ME! MWA HA HA HA!*Loses ego boost**unjams caps lock and adds all lower case stuff*   
  
********************************************************************************************************************************************************************  
  
The sky echoed with the sound of thunder crashing and lightning streaked across the sky. Rain poured from the heavens, the angels crying for what was to unfold. On the ground, two best friends faced each other. One of them charging at the other, who held his weapon ready.  
  
Sora's eyes widened and he jumped to the side at the last second, dodging his best friends assault. Riku turned on a dime and shot back, bringing his blade down to strike the younger boy. The smaller boy dodge, rolled away and took to the air in a flourish of soft rainbow feathers, Riku following.  
  
'Why is he doing this?' The brunette wondered, other questions soon following. 'Why's he attacking me, why is his keyblade glowing....ugh, what the heck is going on here??'  
  
Riku swung his blade around at the boy, his larger size giving him a powerful swing. Sora narrowly dodged and brought his own key blade back. The silver haired boy blocked Sora's attack and spun around.  
  
Sora gasped as the dragon blade created a gash in his arm. His hand flew to the cut on his arm, it rested there for a moment before Sora replaced his hand on the hilt of his blade. The cut stung badly and blood slowly gushed from the wound 'I forgot how much that hurts!' Sora thought, glaring at Riku slightly.  
  
The silver haired teen sent another swinging attack at the brunette.Sora folded his wings and dropped a foot so the dragon blade swept over his head, then he blocked with his keyblade.  
  
Riku pulled back and pushed off the ground. He flew higher then dove, using the altitude to gain extra speed. The smaller teen dodged the extreme speed attack and spun around to face his opponent, and his best friend. The look on Riku's face surprised Sora slightly. Riku's mouth was set in a grim line, his aqua blue eyes held sorrow, almost as thought he didn't want to fight brunette but had to.  
  
Riku summoned a small ball of dark energy into his palms. The energy grew bigger, starting at the size of a blueberry and working to the size of a softball, then about the size of a computer monitor. Finally, when the orb was the size of a small car, Riku couldn't hold it any longer. He sent the orb speeding toward Sora.  
  
The brunette's blue eyes widened, he tried to dodge to the right, but the orb was too big and too fast. The crackling black energy crashed into the smaller teen, forcing Sora cry out as pain throbbed throughout his body. Finally, the energy faded, the boy floated there, fists clenched, teeth pressed together, and eyes tightly closed. He tried desperately to ignore the pain but it was too over powering. Sora floated the for a few more seconds before gaining enough energy to move his body.  
  
"Riku, why are you doing this?" Sora demanded, slowly cracking one eye open. For a moment all he saw was crimson liquid. The energy attack had broken blood vessel's in his eye. He blinked repeatedly and it cleared.  
  
Riku straightened up, determined yet sad."It's the only way Sora."  
  
"Why is it the only way?" Sora asked, almost pleading with his best friend.  
  
Riku's head hung for a moment before he returned his gaze to Sora's eyes.  
  
"It's the only way we'll get you back..."  
  
"Huh??" Sora exclaimed, slowly regaining enough energy to move completely. The brunette looked at the silver haired teen in utter confusion.   
  
'He should at least know...' A voice within Riku's head whispered.  
  
'But the King said-' Riku began, but was cut off by the voice. 'Forget what he said, look at your best friend! He should at least know WHY your hurting him...' The voice argued.  
  
Riku sighed, still holding his dragon blade tightly, and began to talk.  
  
~Flashback~  
  
Riku slowly walked out of the shack and headed toward the cave that led to Essence Point, both of his hands shoved in his pockets. The lightning flashed and suddenly a face with large ears and rather large nose, hovered before him.  
  
"Ack!"Riku cried, jumping in surprise, eyes wide and heart pounding.  
  
"Relax, it's just me! King Mickey!"The face cried.  
  
Riku took a few moments to clam down before looking at the face closer. Two huge ears popped out from behind it's head and a small golden crown sat on top. The face had a mousy snout and large black nose. It was in fact King Mickey. Riku took a step back so he could see the King standing before him (yes, he's there, he's NOT just a floating head)  
  
"Oh....Don't scare me like that!"Riku growled, narrowing his eyes at the mouse.  
  
"Sorry." Mickey apologized, quickly.  
  
His face was etched with worry and excitement. Which caught Riku off guard slightly.  
  
"Uh...so why are you here now?" Riku asked watching King Mickey.  
  
"Because I know how to help Sora." The mouse king replied.  
  
Riku's eyes widened and his heart sped up again. "Really? Then you go talk to him!"  
  
Mickey shook his head, sadly. "That's not what going to help him."  
  
"Then what is it?" Riku asked cocking one eye brow up.  
  
Mickey sighed."Did you notice the dark aurora coming from Sora when he refused to help?"  
  
Riku's eyes widened."So I wasn't imagining it?"  
  
Mickey nodded."That dark aurora is real and...I believe it's the remnant's of Lucifer's control."  
  
Riku frowned deeply. "Didn't Kairi get rid of that?"  
  
"Well...She did... but only got rid of most of it..."Mickey stated looking sad and a little distressed.   
  
Riku sighed, hanging his head. He knew where this was going. "What am I supposed to do?"  
  
"You have to get rid of Lucifer's control."Mickey answered.  
  
"Well, yeah, I figured that much, but how?"Riku asked, slightly irritated and getting the feeling he wasn't going to like the answer.  
  
Mickey held out his hand."Hand me your dragon blade."He commanded.  
  
"What? Why!?"Riku demanded.  
  
"Just let me see it for a second."   
  
Riku growled."Fine... but you'd better not mess with it "  
  
He placed his gleaming black weapon in the mouse's hand.  
  
Mickey used his left hand to pull the block off of the blade.   
  
"Hey, why'd you do that?"Riku asked."That was there so I don't end up killing someone!"   
  
Mickey closed his eyes and held the blade in front of him with both hands. Energy began to gather into the weapon, a glow beginning to come from the surface. Finally, he placed the dragon blade back in Riku's hands, and it glowed with a white light.  
  
Riku raised an eyebrow."Why'd you do that??"  
  
"So you can free Sora."Mickey explained, his face still holding a sad expression.  
  
"...I don't get it..."   
  
Mickey sighed again."And they say Sora is thick headed."He muttered under his breath, which Riku caught, and shot a glare at the mouse king.  
  
"OK, tell me, how many time's has Sora lost a battle since he came back?"  
  
"Uh..." Riku paused, recalling all of the battles. ".........none.."  
  
"Yes, now basically, that many wins has brought his ego WAAAAAAAAY up there. That combined with Sora's plain old stubbornness has awakened what remains of Lucifer's control. Now the only way to get rid of that, is a lesson in humility...a lesson only learned by loss."   
  
The King tapped the dragon blade on the fifteen-year-old's hand. "You get it now?"  
  
Riku's eyes widened."Uh-uh! No, no, and no! I am NOT going to attack Sora. If he needs it so much, you do it!"  
  
Mickey shook his head."I can't. My keyblade seals people's hearts. Yours is the one that unlocks them, Remember?"  
  
Riku crossed his arms over his chest and glared hard.."I'm STILL not doing it."  
  
"Look, you've have to unlock his heart, that's where Lucifer is, and he's feeding off of Sora's ego." Mickey pleaded.  
  
"I'm not doing it! I'll end up hurting him again!" Riku stated stubbornly.  
  
"He's going to be hurt more if you don't."Mickey countered."Which is worse?"  
  
Riku didn't have anything to argue to that."Fine.."He said, defeated letting his arms droop to his sides."I will...I just hope he'll be ok afterwards."   
  
"He'll be better then ever, trust me."Mickey said with a small smile.  
  
Riku nodded."Ok then."He began to walk away but Mickey called to him and Riku turned back around. "Oh, and Riku...Don't tell him. That will most likely awaken Lucifer's control, and that will hurt him even more."  
  
"Fine, I won't. Can I go now??" The silver haired teen snapped.   
  
"Yes."Mickey said quietly, before vanishing.  
  
Riku turned and headed toward Essence point. 'Maybe if I'm lucky an evil seagull will fly out of the sky and kill me before I get there...'   
  
~end flashback~   
  
Sora floated in mid air, eyes wide." I-I....I don't understand...Lucifer's still inside of me?"  
  
"Yes, and we need to get rid of him, or you'll remain incomplete."  
  
'Well, that explains why I've been feeling so bad for the past year' Sora thought.  
  
Suddenly, a pain throbbed in the brunette's mind. The boy held his head and screamed.  
  
"Sora!?"Riku cried, eyes wide and full of shock and fear."Sora, what's wrong?"   
  
Sora closed his eyes and tears of crimson blood streamed down his cheeks. He still clutched his head. "I-I don't know...just help me...Riku...please"   
  
A dark light suddenly burst from the teenagers heart and enveloped him. An animal like scream came from the orb of black light.   
  
The one Riku had never wanted to hear again.   
  
"RRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"  
  
Slowly the dark light cleared, and what Riku saw chilled him to the bone.  
  
Sora was floating there, eyes closed, arms crossed over himself and a dragon tail wrapped around him. There was blade at the end of the tail like a scorpion's tail. Sora's once human ears were replaced by wolf-like ones that stood straight up. "S-Sora?" Riku stuttered, eye wide and heart pounding. The boy's eye lids snapped open revealing expressionless and cold as ice blue eyes, that lacked pupils. His mouth spread into a sneer, showing off two fangs. The boy held out his arms, and blades appeared from his elbows. The dragon tail flexed and twisted upward, until it was arched above Sora's head similar to the way scorpions set themselves up for an attack. Then two ripped, black dragon wings burst from the boy's back.  
  
"Ah crap...not again."Riku moaned, taking a subconscious step back.  
  
"Hello there Riku.." The dragon boy said, in a voice combined with Sora's voice and an old enemy known as Lucifer.   
  
****************************************************************************** **************************************************************************************  
  
~Theplacewherealltheyugiohcharectersare(I'llthinkupanameeventually)Theplacewhe realltheyugiohcharecterare(I'llthinkupanameeventually)~   
  
"DID I NOT TELL YOU TO STOP BEING SO SOFT???" The Shadow Riku's voice demanded, his sea green eyes narrowed and watching the blonde teen that stood before him.  
  
Jounouchi glared up at the silver haired tyrant, but said nothing.  
  
'Riku' walked over to the blonde teen, fists clenched. "I told you to teach the boy a lesson, and all you do it punch him a few times? That is so pathetic. You could do much better then that."  
  
Jounouchi looked away from the silver-haired teen, his eyes still narrowed with hate."You took my sister hostage, you forced me to be one of your stupid croonies. You can't make me hurt my best friend." The street-wise teen pivoted on one foot so he turned to face the boy, using his momentum as extra speed for the punch he threw at 'Riku'.   
  
The sinister monster smirked, and caught the fist with one hand before it made contact with his face.   
  
"I'm glad to see that old look in your eyes, Jounouchi. Too bad for you it's aimed at me." The tyrant said with a sneer.  
  
He brought his other hand back, then thrust it forward and punched the blonde in the gut. Jounouchi dropped to the ground and winced as a strong kick slammed into his side. The boy rolled away before the second kick struck him and kicked his abuser's legs out from under him. 'Riku' fell to the ground with a thump and the blond haired teen stood up. Now it was Jounouchi who kicked the one on the ground. 'Riku' summoned a small amount of dark energy into his palm. In one swift movement he brought his palm up to Jounouchi chest and blasted the energy at the boy, who cried out and fell to the ground, knocked out. '˜Riku' smirked and the limp form and stood up. Just then Seto came into the room, now in armor and with various weapons at his side.  
  
"What is it '˜Riku?" He asked with his typical cold tone. As he glanced around his eyes actually had shown with a bit of emotion when they landed on the downed street kid, but the emotion quickly vanished.  
  
"No need to care, he's just another weak slave, nothing important."˜Riku smirked, and ran a hand through his hair "Take 'General' Jounouchi here down to Malik and Bakura. He seems to be in need of an attitude lesson."  
  
Seto made no notion that he would do what 'Riku' had asked, but he picked up the blonde and left the room, without a sound   
  
*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************  
  
~Inthehallwaythingyinthehallywaythingyinthehallwaythingyinthehallwaythingyinth ehallwaythingyinthehallwaythingyinthehallwaythingy~   
  
Jounouchi groaned at the splitting head ach he felt over taking is mind.  
  
He opened his eyes and found himself being dragged down the hallway.  
  
"Huh...uh...wha?" He murmured, confused.  
  
"So, the puppy dog is finally awake." Seto's voice hissed coldly.   
  
"Wha...Kaiba?!?"Jounouchi cried, twisting to face the voice.  
  
"No, I'm the Easter bunny, puppy dog."Seto said sarcastically.  
  
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Jounouchi yelled, anger and rage spreading through him.  
  
"Tsk...temper, temper."Seto smirked.  
  
Jou growled but decided to calm down, he wouldn't get anywhere arguing with Kaiba."What's going on here?" He demanded, his voice still etched with anger.   
  
"Ah, the puppy dog disobeyed his master, so Master decided to send you down to Malik and Bakura." Seto said coyly, the edges of his mouth twitched up in a small smile.  
  
Jounouchi paled visibly. Malik and Bakura were in charge of the torture chambers.  
  
The horrible, and terrifying, torture chambers that very few came away from alive, and sane. The screams echoing from those chambers were so loud, that they could be heard from miles away, and keep you awake for weeks. Yes, there were other torture chambers, but Malik and Bakura were well known for being insane, sadistic, and just plain cruel. (sounds kind of like my math teacher) Seto snorted."Looks like the Chihuahua's got his tail between his legs."( Beta Reader: A Chiwowa if you don't get it by the spelling)   
  
Jou growled."I'm NOT going to Malik and Bakura." He forced his heels down in to the ground, preventing his movement."You can't make me go!"  
  
"Want to bet?"Seto said, pulling a card from his belt. (One guess what it is) "We can do this the easy way or the hard way puppy dog."   
  
Jounouchi growled."Neither!" He pulled himself from Seto's grip and dashed down the hallway.   
  
Seto sweep kicked the boy with his foot, and Jou crashed to the ground. "Stop embarrassing yourself puppy dog."The brown haired boy hissed standing up, his cold blue eyes looking down and the blonde teen before him.  
  
Jounouchi growled."I'm not done yet."   
  
He pulled out his most prized card."I summon the Red-Eyes-Black-Dragon!"   
  
A streak of purple light came from the card, and the huge black dragon appeared before the fallen blonde. Jounouchi grinned and got to his feet. "Yo Kaiba, say hello to my Red-Eyes-Black-Dragon. His name is Rouge (1). Say hello Rouge."   
  
The dragon's eyes flashed and he looked down at the brown haired teen before him and growled lowly. "Oh yeah, he can talk too. Isn't he awesome?"Jounouchi patted the dragons leg, a gleam in his dark brown eyes.  
  
The dragon narrowed his eyes at Seto."Master, is this human bothering you?"The dragon asked in a deep, rich voice.  
  
"Yeah, he is."Jounouchi answered.  
  
"Then allow me to take care of him for you."The dragon said, taking a step toward the lone Kaiba brother.  
  
"Ah, sure, go ahead Rouge." Jou smiled, and crossed his arms over his chest, smiling in satisfaction.   
  
The dragon bared it's needle sharp teeth, and let out a loud and long roar.  
  
Seto seemed unimpressed and looked over at Jounouchi in sheer boredom. "I don't think so, Puppy dog. Two can play at this game." Seto held the card he had pulled from his belt out."I summon the Blue-eyes-white-dragon!"   
  
There was a flash of blue light from the card, and an image of a white creature before... BOOOOOOOOOOM! The Blue dragon appeared and landed on it's huge, talon feet, blocking Jounouchi's path. It glared at Jou with it's pale blue eyes snarling madly.  
  
"Ok Puppy Dog, meet Kaiser(2) the first of my three blue-eyes-white-dragons. Say hello Kaiser."  
  
"HAAROOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRR!!!"The beast bellowed, throwing his head back.  
  
"Kaiser, Jounouchi here isn't listening, do you suppose you could,..." Seto paused, then smiled, "motivate him to come along willingly?"  
  
"Of course Master." The white dragon said in a icy voice, similar to Seto's.  
  
Jou's eyes widened."Crap.."He murmured.  
  
Rouge's red eyes also widened, but they quickly narrowed. The black dragon took his place in front of Jounouchi and spread his wings wide."You aren't touching my master."  
  
Kaiser snorted, steam coming from his nostrils. He stepped forward, sizing up to his full height, quite a bit higher then the Red Eyes Black Dragon that blocked him from Jounouchi."I can eliminate you with one breath, little one. You may be great, but when it comes to dragons, I am King."  
  
"Er...correction, that's either Orsis or Ra...."Jounouchi said meekly, but both dragons ignored him, staring at each other in utter hate.   
  
"Regardless of that, I will defend my master to the end, even if it comes to that." Rouge growled, baring his fangs.  
  
Kaiser's eyes narrowed."Then so be it." The dragon slammed shoulder first into the black dragon, sending the smaller beast slamming into the dirt.  
  
The smaller dragon quickly rose, then jumped into the air, despite the low ceiling, and dove into the Blue eyes, knocking it back slightly.  
  
The blue dragon pivoted and struck the black dragon with it's tail, again sending the Red eyes slamming into the ground.   
  
The black dragon rose once again and sucked in a breath, then blew flames at the blue dragon. The blue eyed dragon staggered slightly from the flames, but recovered. It began to create it's own attack.  
  
"Any last words?" The dragon asked.   
  
"Stop!" Jounouchi cried."Rouge...I don't want to lose you over me, go back to your card."   
  
The Red eyes black dragon turned, it's slightly bruised body aching slightly."But master..."It protested.  
  
"Rouge, I don't want to see you destroyed, do as I say!"  
  
Rouge sighed."As you wish, master." There was a flash of red light, and the monster disappeared, leaving Jou unguarded and slightly down hearted.  
  
Seto snorted."Your weaker then I thought puppy dog. Too bad your master, Yugi isn't here, eh?"  
  
Jounouchi growled." Shudup Kaiba!" He snapped."I just care about my monsters, unlike you! You wouldn't care if that dragon of yours was going to be destroyed."  
  
Kaiser blinked, uncertainty shown in it's blue eyes. Was this blonde human right? Did his master care for him?  
  
Kaiba growled."Your wrong! I care plenty for Kaiser!"   
  
"Sure you do Kaiba. I highly doubt that though, I mean, if you joined forces with that freak back there, you obviously just don't care about the people who were your friends, like Yugi, and me, and lets not forget about Mokuba." Kaiba's eyes widened at his little brothers name. He walked over to the blonde and fisted him hard in the gut  
  
."I cared plenty about my brother, you dog. Don't you EVER say I didn't."He hissed.  
  
Jou recovered from the blow."Oh really? If you care so much about him, then how come you joined up with 'Riku'? I doubt Mokuba would have liked that."  
  
"I wouldn't talk, Puppy! I highly doubt Serenity is too proud of you joining up with him either!"The CEO shot back, hands clenched into fists.  
  
"I had no choice Kaiba! YOU did! I'm doing this because if I don't, 'Riku' will torture my sister. YOU, on the other hand, did it because you couldn't take it! You were too weak, and decided you didn't care anymore! How can you call me a dog when you act more like a puppy with his tail between his legs! If you ask me, you're just being a pushover."  
  
Seto's eyes narrowed dangerously. He grabbed the boy by his shirt collar."Take that back, puppy dog!"  
  
"Why should I when it's true, you stuck up rich Git!" Jounouchi shot back, glaring with pure hatred.  
  
Seto dropped the blonde. He backed up slightly, head down.  
  
'Maybe I talked some sense into him...' Jonouchi thought.   
  
Suddenly Seto looked up, a cold, icy expression on his face. He crossed his arms over his chest and gazed back at Kaiser.  
  
"Kaiser, attack him. Just don't kill him. I want him alive..."The CEO said icily, returning his gaze back to Jou.  
  
The Blue-eyes-White-dragon, which had been silent the entire time, opened it's mouth, and a roar ripped from it's throat.   
  
Jounouchi's eyes widened fearfully. 'Oh man, this is gonna hurt....' A burst of white lightning and blue fire came from the dragon's mouth and enveloped the blonde, who's bloodcurdling scream echoed through the building.   
  
When the attack cleared, Jounouchi lay, unconscious and scorched, on the stone floor.   
  
"Ok Kaiser, that's enough." Kaiba said quietly, but forcefully.   
  
The dragon vanished.   
  
Seto walked over to Jounouchi and placed a leather collar on the boys neck. A dog collar.   
  
He smirked and hooked a chain to the collar.   
  
Then he dragged the blonde along. "I'll teach you to talk like that about me..."The CEO hissed. ****************************************************************************** ************************************************************************************** ~DowntoBakuraandMalikDowntoBakuraandMalikDowntoBakuraandMalikDowntoBakuraandMa likDowntoBakuraandMalik~  
  
A white haired boy leaned against the stone wall, idly watching the scene before him. His cool brown eyes, lined with Egyptian Kohl, showed boredom. He wore a striped blue and white T-shirt, a leather jacket covered it, and wore black jeans. On his belt were various daggers, a nine-tailed whip, and a few other sinister looking devices. On a rope around his neck he wore a very oversized golden ring, inside the ring a flat pyramid, with the eye of Ra on it. Several points hung from the ring.(Me:*glares at those who don't know what it is yet*The Millennium ring you morons)   
  
"Are you done yet??"He demanded impatiently.   
  
He glared at the door across from him and a muffled yet clear response came... "SHUTUP! I GOTTA FINISH WITH MY HAIR!"A rage-filled voice cried from behind the door.   
  
The white-haired boy growled, and rolled his eyes."It's just gonna look stupid no matter what you do to it."   
  
Finally, the door opened, and a blonde stepped out. His hair was long and blondish white, but it spiked up and looked a bit ragged. He wore golden manacles, a black beater, a long flowing black cape, and khaki jeans(which weren't really white anymore...they were bloodstained). On his belt, a long staff was attached, on the top was an orb with the eye of Ra on it, and two metal pointed horns extended from it. (the Millennium Rod.....)  
  
"Wow, out already Malik, gee, usually you take another century or so, you must be in a hurry today." The White haired boy snapped with a smirk.  
  
The blonde glared at him."Shut up Bakura."   
  
Bakura rolled his eyes again, and suddenly his face became expressionless for a few seconds.  
  
He growled, and then regained his bored look. "Stupid, weak Ryou. I swear if he starts bugging me one more time, I'll have to make his punishments worse tonight."   
  
"Ah yes, but those bloodstains are just SO hard to clean off."Malik mused, glancing at Bakura's pants, which had several splashes of faded blood on them.  
  
Bakura sighed in a bored fashion."Is it just me, or does 'Riku' never send us anyone good anymore?'"  
  
"Hey, you have your Hikari to beat senseless don't you?"Malik countered, glaring at the white haired boy beside him.   
  
"Well, yeah, but there's no one fun to torture besides him...well, except for the Pharaoh's Hikari, now that's fun." Bakura said with a grin, getting a dazed look as though he was imagining his 'fun' with the little boy.   
  
Malik smirked."Yup, we're finally where we should be, and the arrogant Pharaoh is right where he belongs."   
  
Bakura smirked and splashed some water on his hair, then pushed it up so it stayed up in the air and was spiked. He slouched down a bit so he seemed shorter and held his nose in the air. He grabbed a cape and pulled it over his shoulders. He walked around."Look at me, I'm the great almighty Pharaoh!!!" He said in an overly deep voice."I'm amazing and great and awesome and better then you and I'm the king of games and your not. If you touch my Aibou I'll summon my dark magician to send your mind to the shadow realm, because I'm better then you, BWA HA HA HA HA!"  
  
Malik laughed."Now me!" He got down on his knee's and widened his eyes, making himself look sickeningly cute."I'm the little hikari, oh save me great Pharaoh Yami, meany Bakura and Malik are trying to hurt me!" He said in an extremely high voice more fit for a young girl then a boy.  
  
"No, I'm afraid I cannot do that Aibou!" Bakura said, still in the overly deep voice.  
  
"Why not oh great-all-powerful-Yami-who-I-adore-so-much-because-I-can't-do-anything-by-myself?"Malik asked, voice extremely high.   
  
"Because I am too busy putting my favorite gel in my hair, stick-em-up!"  
  
"How do you know he uses that kind of gel??"Malik asked in his normal voice.   
  
"I'm a thief, do I really need to answer that?"Bakura replied, back in his normal voice as well.   
  
"Oh yeah..."Malik cleared his throat, and began talking in the overly high voice again."But Yami, I want some of that Hair gel!"   
  
"Ok My little hikari, you may use some of my wonderful hair gel, for I would not want you to be unhappy."Bakura said, again in the deep voice. The two Yami's made fake gagging noises.  
  
"Oh thank you Yami!"   
  
"You are welcome, now I must go strut in front of a mirror and tell myself how awesome I am!"Bakura walked over to a mirror and marched in front of the mirror."I AM THE GREAT PHARAOH YAMI, I AM AMAZING! FEAR ME! I HAVE POWER OVER YOU!"  
  
Malik walked over to one of their handcuffs and pretended to be stuck in them."AHHH, SAVE ME PHARAOH YAMI, MALIK'S EVIL MIND SLAVES ARE HURTING ME!"  
  
"I'LL SAVE YOU AIBOU! I SUMMON THE DARK MAGICIAN!"   
  
"Hey, you have to sacrifice two monsters to summon him!"Malik cried in his regular voice.   
  
"NO I DON'T, BECAUSE I AM THE PHARAOH!" Bakura called, thrusting one hand into the air.   
  
"That's cheating!" Malik argued   
  
"NO IT'S NOT, PHARAOH YAMI NEVER CHEATS!"  
  
"Oh yeah...well...in that case....I SUMMON THE GODS OF OBELISK, ORSIS, AND RA!"  
  
"HEY! ONLY ONE OF THOSE CARDS IS YOURS!"Bakura cried in his regular voice.  
  
"Well if you can summon without sacrificing then I can use cards that aren't mine, SO THERE!"Malik stuck out his tongue.   
  
"Whatever...."Bakura switched to his Yami voice."Oh no! Heart of the cards, guard me!"  
  
".....It's GUIDE ME YOU MORON!" Malik said looking very annoyed.  
  
"NUN-UH, THE PHARAOH ALWAYS SAYS GUARD ME!"   
  
"IT'S GUIDE ME!"   
  
"GUARD ME!"  
  
"GUIDE ME!"   
  
"GUARD ME!"   
  
"UGH, WHATEVER!"Malik said, then said in a another high voice, even higher then the 'Yugi' voice.  
  
"NO, WE WILL NOT 'GUARD' YOU YAMI!"  
  
Bakura raised an eyebrow."Who are YOU supposed to be?"   
  
"The heart of the cards!"  
  
"Oh..."   
  
"Yeah.." Bakura got back to mocking Yami."Well, why not??"   
  
"BECAUSE WE HATE STICK-EM UP, MALIK'S BRAND OF HAIR GEL IS MUCH BETTER!" The two Yami's cracked up.  
  
"NOOOO....THE HEART OF THE CARDS WON'T GUARD ME!"  
  
"It's 'GUIDE ME!'" Malik muttered under his breath."OBELISK, ORSIS, AND RA, ATTACK THE PHARAOH!"   
  
Bakura screamed girlishly and made groaning and moaning sounds, falling to his knees and crying out overdramatically.  
  
"Oh Aibou, I have failed you.."  
  
"Yami, nooooo!" Bakura pretended to choke.   
  
"JUST DIE ALREADY!"Malik cried after about five minutes of 'Pharaoh Yami's demise.'   
  
Bakura stuck his tongue and acted as dead as possible.  
  
"MWA HA HA HA! THE PHARAOH IS DEAD! THE GREAT THIEF BAKURA, AND...ER.....MALIK, ARE THE NEW PHARAOHS OF THE WORLD!!!"Malik cried.  
  
Both Yami's cracked up, clutching their stomachs, and laying on the ground. After fifteen minutes the finally stopped laughing.  
  
"We have it good."Malik declared, still breathless for laughing so hard.   
  
"Oh yeah."Bakura nodded. The doors at the other end of the room suddenly opened, and the two Yami's looked up hopefully.   
  
Seto Kaiba walked in, dragging the semi-conscious Jounouchi behind him.  
  
"Ooooo, look at this..."Bakura said with a grin." The Lone Kaiba is pissed off and has his puppy dragging along behind him."  
  
"Shut up Bakura."The CEO snarled.  
  
Malik raised his hands in mock defense."Whoa, the great Seto Kaiba is in a bad mood. We'd better be careful Bakura, he might sick one of his Blue Eyes White Dragons on us!!"  
  
"AHHH!"Bakura screamed like a girl and pretended to faint from fear.  
  
The two Yami's cackled again, but Seto didn't look amused.  
  
"Well, I hope you're enjoying your laugh, because you're going to be even happier once you find out I have a job for you."Seto yanked on the chain and Jounouchi was tugged farther into the room.   
  
The blonde was on his hands and knees, a leather dog collar on his neck, the tag said 'Puppy dog' on it. "It seems Jounouchi here is having trouble obeying his new master. He said something along the lines of 'Teaching him a lesson'." Seto stated to Bakura and Malik, watching their faces to see how bad Jou was going to have it.   
  
The two Yami's perked up. Bakura stood to his feet and walked over to the CEO."You want him rare, mediums, or well done?"He asked, pulling a knife from his belt and running his fingernail over the blade.   
  
The knife was bloodstained, much like most of the room.   
  
"Uh, none, thank you, Riku wants him back alive."   
  
"DARN IT!" Malik snapped his fingers.  
  
"However, I would like that you teach the dog to respect his master. He tends to run at the mouth." The CEO kicked the blonde's side."Much to my dislike."   
  
Bakura grasped the chain connected to Jonouchi's collar. "Thank you Seto, feel free to stay..." Bakura said with a grin, various schemes already dancing in his head  
  
. "Er, no thanks..."Seto said, getting the feeling it was best for his mental health not to remain in the room. He turned and left.  
  
"Ok Doggy, time for some fun." Bakura said, in a playful-like tone.   
  
Jounouchi growled, and glared angrily at the whit haired teen before him.   
  
"Better be careful, I think he bites, You think he's had his rabies shots yet?"Malik asked from across the room.   
  
"Who knows?"Bakura answered, pulling on Jonouchi's chain.  
  
"C'mon doggy."   
  
Jounouchi growled and pulled back, standing to his feet."I don't think so. I'm not your dog."   
  
"Wrong-o doggy, now get over here before we decide to make it worse."Bakura sneered, pulling on the chain so Jounouchi had to either come closer or suffocate.  
  
'Fine then, I'll just die.' Jounouchi thought, not moving.   
  
"Get over here!!"Bakura commanded, pulling even harder.   
  
Malik walked over."If you don't, we'll be sure to bring your sister down here in your place." An image of Serenity popped into Jou's head, chained before 'Riku's throne, beaten and bruised. 'I can't leave her to that..' The blonde thought. He slowly stepped forward toward the white-haired boy pulling on his chain.   
  
"That's a good doggy."Bakura said with a smirk. He pulled the chain over to the wall and clamped it onto on of the metal poles.   
  
"Now stay here."Bakura commanded and walked away to find something.  
  
Malik walked over and pulled something from behind his back. A dagger.  
  
"Now first, we need to get rid of this shirt."He said, then brought his fist holding the dagger down.   
  
Jounouchi closed his eyes in anticipation of pain, but it never came.  
  
Instead a loud ripping sound could be heard, and when Jounouchi opened his eyes, the tattered remains of his shirt lay on the floor.  
  
"Hm, what do you think Bakura, should we get rid of the pants too?"Malik asked, a sick smile twisting over his lips.   
  
Bakura smirked, walking back into the room."Might as well, he doesn't need them for what I have planned."   
  
Malik grinned, getting the drift of what Bakura had in mind. "Ok then, off come the pants."He leaned down closer to the chained boy.  
  
Jounouchi waited until Malik was with in inches of him, then kneed Malik in the stomach. The Yami grunted and fell over.   
  
"You ain't taking off my pants you sick-os! They stay on!"Jonouchi cried.   
  
"So, you want to do this the hard way then hm? Ok, fine." The white haired boy kicked Jou in the stomach. The teen groaned and bent over his stomach. Bakura kicked him in the back, knocking him down on his stomach.   
  
Malik had recovered and had gotten up. He pressed a few buttons on the little computer console on the wall. Cuff's shot from the ground and clicked, locking onto Jounouchi's ankles and wrists. Jounouchi tried to pull free, but the golden manacles held fast. The boy pulled at them for awhile, then looked around.  
  
Malik and Bakura had disappeared.   
  
"Bakura's busy getting ready for his part."A voice said behind him. Malik' s voice. "So for now we get to play."   
  
There was a whistling sound, like something cutting air, and Jou tried to steady himself for what he knew was coming.  
  
"AHHHH!" Jounouchi cried out as his back exploded in pain.  
  
He looked over his shoulder in time to see a leather whip flashing down on him with too many tails to count.  
  
He cried out again and again as the whip came down on his soft unprotected skin. The whip bit deeply into his back, drawing warm blood that began to cover the ground beneath the blonde. The teen thrashed and tried to jerk away from the snaking whip, to no avail. 'I won't cry, I won't cry..' Jou mentally screamed at himself. Something warm and wet hit his right hand, He was crying. Malik continued on for about half an hour, seemingly maddened, before he quit, sending one last blow that struck Jou from shoulder to waistline. The beaten teen's bloodied shoulders were shaking from sobs that racked his body, relieved that it was over.  
  
But it wasn't.Jou looked up to see Malik squatting down in front of him, his lavender eyes filled with sick joy. The blonde teens hurt eyes changed to defiance.  
  
" Someday, I'm going to pay you back for this, and you'll scream and cry more then I did."The bound teen snarled.  
  
Malik snorted."You'll regret those words boy."He pulled a knife from his belt.   
  
He held the blade at different angles, watching the light hit the steel blade.   
  
Then he smirked and lightly slashed Jounouchi's cheek.  
  
The blonde gasped. Malik traced his finger over the wound and licked the blood from his finger. The Yami's lavender eyes shown with bloodlust.   
  
Without warning, he bit hard into Jou's shoulder. The boy cried out in pain as the Yami drew blood and licked the crimson warm substance.   
  
"You sicko!" Jou growled and tried to shake the bloodthirsty Yami off of him. This resulted in Malik biting harder and sucking more. He licked until he could see exactly where Jou's scars would be. He withdrew his mouth from the blonde's shoulder. He licked the remaining blood from his lips.   
  
"You sick minded bastard."Jou hissed. "Language."The Yami said, waving his index finger.  
  
He created several more gashes, some large, some mere scratches.The Yami sucked each cut dry. By then, Jou was starting to feel light headed.  
  
Then the Yami moved to the boy's back. He then stabbed the knife into the teens back.  
  
Jou screamed out in pain as the Yami began to draw something in his flesh, using Jou's back as if it was his own personal canvas.   
  
Finally he was done. He pulled out a small tiny mirror and shined it so Jou could see what he'd done. Kanji for Dog was now scrawled on his back, bleeding profusely.  
  
Malik smirked."Hope you like it, because it will remain for the rest of your life." He turned and left the room. Jou shuddered, the room spinning. He let out a howl of anguish, and then everything went black  
  
. ****************************************************************************** ******************************************** (Sorry everyone, I was gonna include Ryou, but seeing as the Yu Gi Oh part of the chapter is long as it is, I'm gonna leave him for next chapter. And what was Bakura gonna do to Jou? Use your imagination, you sickos.)  
  
(( Beta Reader:: * Looks pale * Dude Crystal that was....argh really gross... I think I'm going to be sick...))   
  
~BackonTheIslandBackOntheIslandBackonTheislandBackonTheislandBackontheIslandBa ckontheIslandbackontheislandbackontheisland~   
  
Riku glared at his dragon-a-fied friend.   
  
Wait a second, maybe right now he wasn't really his friend anymore. Sora's face twisted into a demented grin."Thank you for setting me free. I was getting pretty bored in there."  
  
"Bastard, you let Sora go right now! Or else!" Riku's dragon blade flared with energy to prove his point. Riku looked far more the pissed, he was ready to rip Lucifer's head off.. and he would have if Lucifer HAD a head.   
  
"No, I don't think so."Lucifer/Sora said, still smiling in a sinister fashion "Now that I'm out, I feel like wreaking some mass destruction."  
  
Riku's eyes narrowed."Not while I'm here."   
  
Lucifer/Sora smirked."Then you will die." Blade's extended from his finger tips.   
  
He let out a beast like hiss, as he shifted into a crouched position   
  
"Bring it on."Riku declared, clutching his dragon blade tightly.   
  
Sora/Lucifer charged forward, blade like claws ready.   
  
Riku flapped his wings and shot upward just before Lucifer's razor sharp blades could sink into his flesh.  
  
Lucifer pulled off an amazing aerial maneuver, twisting and changing direction from down to up with hardly any loss of speed. He charged upward and slashed at Riku with Sora's keyblade.   
  
The silver-haired boy cried out as the blade struck, the block mysteriously had been removed, so it left a long gash across his chest. The blow sent Riku spiraling back several feet.  
  
Riku regained control and balance, and growled at the dragon being before him. He summoned dark energy into his palms once more.  
  
Lucifer shook a finger."Ah ah ah, if you hurt me, you'll hurt your friend."  
  
Riku glared at him."If that's what I have to do to rescue my friend, so be it. It's the only way I'll get him back." He sent a wave of crackling dark energy slamming into Lucifer. The teen let out a cry and began creating his own orb of energy. It was dark rainbow colored.   
  
"Lets see how you like it!"Lucifer/Sora hissed.  
  
He sent the energy slamming into Riku. Riku cried out in pain as the energy struck him. His body heaved as the attack cleared.  
  
He glared at Lucifer/Sora and spat out some blood.  
  
"HOOOORRRRRRAAAAAAAAWWWWWRRRRR!" The dragon-boy let out a roar and surged forward. This time Riku was too slow and the blade's slashed at his leg, cutting off his left pant leg and creating a gash in his shin, revealing a bit of his bone.   
  
Riku's skin crawled and his stomach did a flip at the sight of this. 'I've gotta finish our fight quick...' "Sora! C'mon, I know your in there! Fight him!" Riku called, trying to reach his best friend, but Lucifer only laughed.   
  
"He can't hear you Riku! Sora no longer exists!" Lucifer sneered.   
  
"That's not true! He's still in there!" Riku cried.  
  
Lucifer grinned, a scary contrast to Sora's dazzling smile. "No, he's not."  
  
He flew toward Riku and snapped his dragon tail like a whip. He launched it forward, slicing Riku's shoulder with the blade. The blade came back around and slashed him in the chest, striking like a scorpion's tail, faster then the eye can see.   
  
Riku grunted and swung his blade around, slashing the dragon child.  
  
The boy fell back, a cry escaping from his fanged mouth.   
  
'There's gotta be some way to bring him back.....wait, I got it!' Riku flew as high as he could. He spread his black angel wings wide. His keyblade began to glow with a black, blue, and deep violet light. Waves grew to tsunami size, and water spun from the ocean and around Riku,. The wind picked up, along with sand, and black flames erupted from Riku's body. Suddenly, the clouds parted, showing the moon. It's glow illuminated the fifteen year old, bathing him in pale silver light. The clouds closed up, and the storm raged worse then before, seeming angry with the clouds parting.  
  
Riku floated there, glowing with the dark part of every element. Then, a light burst from the crown necklace that hung around Lucifer/Sora's neck.  
  
" Wha? What's happening?" Lucifer cried.  
  
"One of Sora's favorite attacks. Hopefully it'll wake him up."Riku said grimly, his eyes set on the dragon creature that was once his best friend..   
  
"Why do you speak of one who you know is gone!?"Lucifer demanded, frowning deeply and glaring at the15 year old.   
  
"He's not gone!"Riku said."I know it, because if he was, this wouldn't be possible." Riku then dove straight down, his keyblade pointed right at Sora. The blade dove into the heart of the boy.   
  
Lucifer/Sora screamed out as pain coursed through the body, tearing through flesh with the darkness of every element. There was a flash of pure light from Sora's heart...it grew bigger, until it enveloped him.   
  
When the light vanished, all of the demonic traces were gone. Sora floated there, bruises and gashes from the fight blemishing his tan skin, blood soaking his tattered clothes, seemingly in suspended animation, head down.   
  
"Riku, thank you."Sora said, in his normal voice.   
  
Riku blinked, looking hopeful."Does this mean Lucifer's gone? Is it over?"   
  
Sora shook his head, still gazing at the water's below."No, he's not. I can still feel him."   
  
Riku looked at him."..Sora, I don't want to attack you....but I have to. And I'm sorry, but it'll hurt...a lot... I know you've already been through so much...but I have to do this."   
  
Sora's head remained down. "Sora...?"   
  
"Then go ahead Riku..."Sora said, looking up at his best friend, his sky blue eyes dull and sad.   
  
Riku blinked."Huh?"   
  
Sora's battered arms lowered, and the Essence keyblade vanished from his bloodied hands."Do what you came to do."   
  
Riku's eyes widened."Are you crazy?? That kind of attack could kill you if you just take it head on."   
  
Sora looked down again."If that happens, then so be it."   
  
Riku gave a pleading look but Sora didn't see it. the silver haired teen sighed and nodded. He placed the point of his blade over Sora's heart.   
  
Tears were streaming from his eyes. "Sora...I'm sorry, I hope you'll forgive me somehow." Then he brought back his arm. His dragon blade glowed with rainbow light. Then he stabbed it forward with the force of a lightning strike into the smaller teenager's heart.   
  
Suddenly, it felt as if a part of Sora was being torn from his body. Darkness was torn from the roots they created deep in his heart. It was ripped away, like a scab that wasn't needed. And it hurt like hell. Finally, the light vanished, and Sora fell to the ground on his knees.  
  
There was a pause, and Sora's fragmented cry of anguish pierced the air.   
  
Riku dove to his friend, all important propose forgotten. He took his shaking friend into arms, holding him close, rocking him back and forth, in an embrace meant to fend off the world.   
  
Shoulder's shaking, Sora cried on his best friend's shoulder, pain screaming through his body. Finally, his tears stopped and he looked up at his friend, his energy all lost. Riku looked back, tears in his own eyes along with regret and sorrow. Sora gave a forced smile, which Riku didn't even try to return. "Riku...I'm sorry too." Sora whispered, before finally collapsing in his friends arms, unconscious.   
  
****************************************************************************** *********************************************  
  
To be continued...   
  
Me: Well...that was far longer then I have planned...   
  
Sora: *KOed*@_@   
  
Riku: You made me hurt him....You have a thirty second head start.   
  
Me: EEP!*Runs*   
  
Riku:*starts chasing her, dragon blade in hand*   
  
Me:*breathing hard* READ & REVIEW  
  
Beta Reader: ::Teary eyes:: WAHHHHHHHH ::runs away crying madly.:: 


	7. The Pain of Innocence

~*Broken Rainbow*~  
  
Digitaldreamer  
  
Chapter six: The pain of innocence  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Me:*sighs* That's right.......school has started.  
  
Cast:*groan*  
  
Me: And you wanna know what's worse? I have basketball practice too every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  
  
Sora:*winces* Ohhhh man that sucks.  
  
Me: No kidding, and you know what really sucks?  
  
Cast: What?  
  
Me: No one reads the Authors notes anyway, so no one even knows why the updates are gonna take so long!  
  
Yugi :Wow...that's true!  
  
Me: Yup, see since no one's reading this, I figure I should just hurry up with it, so instead of using much needed wit to come up with this Authors notes, I'm just gonna do the fast version..*pulls out remote and presses 'default' button*  
  
Yami:Blah blah.  
  
Me:Blah blah blah *insert random action here*  
  
Riku:Blah blah! Blah blah!  
  
Random person:Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh  
  
All:BLAAAAAAAHHHH!!*Random action*  
  
Me:Blah..*unpresses default button* Now for the reviews^^  
  
~Rem-Chan~  
  
  
  
OMG! I almost forgot to reply to your reveiw X_x Jeez, here I am thinking "OMG! Rem-chan actually REVEIWED for MY FIC! *Faints*" and then I end up replying to your beloved reveiw at the last minute. *grabs mallet and hits self over head*   
  
I'm really sorry for not asking you about using some of the stuff in your fic *whimpers and pulls out choclate bar with the word 'sorry' scrawled on the wrapper sloppily in a yellow highlighter*  
  
Latin for alone? Meh...Latin hurts my brain X_x  
  
Yeah, it might be alright in the end....course...knowing me *grins evilly*  
  
Here, *gives you a gaint chocolate statue of Sora* SANK YOU FOR REVEIWING! YOU ARE AWASOME!  
  
~KawaiiKairiKH~  
  
Sora and Riku: YAY, PLUSHIES OF US! *Add to our collection of gifts from reveiwers*Heh, ok, we're hurrying^^ Here, a Yugi plushie for you^^  
  
~Sakura, wolf/human angel ~  
  
CHOCOLATE!*Eats* Yummmm...Thank you^^ As for the torture scenes, they are self inspired. No , I don't actually do that to myself X_x I mean I just sorta think em up. And I loved writing the part about the evil Yami's, (( beta reader: I don't think she's stable... Me: *whacks Beta reader*)) it was fun^^ here a box of nerds for you^^  
  
~mystery~  
  
Thanks for reviewing, and keep up with that Mew fic you're writing^^  
  
~crystal-chan~  
  
Sorry to say this, but Ryou's not in this chapter ^^;;; *braces for attack* BUT HE'LL BE IN THE NEXT ONE I SWEAR!!!! Here, CHOCOLATE! DON'T HURT ME!  
  
~PrincessSwifty~  
  
Ooookaaaaaay........tell me, did you take your little red pill this morning? Yeash.......waaaaay too much information o.o;; Anyways, hope ya like this chapter, and here, a giant Little Debbie's snack cake for you^^  
  
~Orodruin~  
  
Wow, Angst/Humor? Normally one would expect that to be a very odd fic..wait, this is a very odd fic...........anyways, you think you feel sorry for the chara's now.......trust me, It gets WORSE and WORSER!  
  
Yami: Worser isn't a word...  
  
*bashes Yami over the head with a mallet* IT IS TOO A WORD BECAUSE I SAY SO!  
  
Yami: X_x  
  
Anyways, ice cream for you^^  
  
~windflame~  
  
Mwa ha ha, yes, I should rename this fic "A series of very unfortunate and angsty events.." XD And Malik IS cannibal,. or at least bloodthirsty. Yes, now read, read my little buffalo...oh, here's some popcorn^^  
  
~Cloud-123~  
  
Mwa ha ha YES DIE LUCIFER!*Swats Lucifer with mallet* Thanks for the reveiw, here's a cookie^^  
  
~soraoathkeeper~  
  
Meh..name...must..think of one X_x Yeah...now then, here's an Oreo^^  
  
~Bilbo-san~  
  
Heh, I am soooo evil ^^ here, you get a huge bag of breadsticks^^  
  
~Celctic Gaurdian 7~  
  
Ha! You lost your appetite because of me! HA HA HA HA! Oh c'mon, it wasn't THAT disgusting. In fact, my torture scenes only get more graphic later on...I'll try to remember a warning this time...you might not wanna eat whilereading this chapter though. Here's a bagel, eat it before you read.  
  
~Ari Powwel~  
  
WOW! BIG REVIEW!*Huggles* SANK YOU FOR BIG REVIEW! Yes, Riku did use Rainbow Dragon Tsunami, only it was a darker version, cause I can't picture Riku usin' rainbow's in his attacks. Nope, nothing good shall happen to Ryou...Mwa ha ha   
  
ha...he's so easy to torture...and he's not in this chapter...darnit, no Ryou-torture today! You're playing Mokuba? Ohh...good thing this fic isn't used for your RPG eh? Mwa ha ha ha...I love writing torture scenes, I love reading them, so I figure it's only fair that if I read them I give some for others to read as well ne? Anyways, thank you for your large   
  
review!*huggles* Here, a Ryou-plushie with Chibi angel wings for you^^  
  
~~~~  
  
Disclaimer: You know what, no one reads this thing anyway, so I figured this would be a good time to insert a joke. There's a new guy working at a cigar store. Another guy comes in and says "How much are your Cigars?" "Uh...I dunno."The new guy answers. The guy who came into the store leaves. Then theboss comes in and says "Twenty Five Cents!" then he leaves, and another guy comes in and says "How much are your cigars?" "Twenty Five cents." "Are they fresh?" "Um..I dunno." So the guy leaves. Then the boss comes in and says "Yes, yes,Very fresh." Then the boss leaves and another guy comes in and says "How much are your cigars?" "Twenty Five cents." "Are they fresh?" "Yes, yes, very fresh." "Can I buy one?" "Um...I dunno." Sothe guy leaves. Then the boss comes in and says "Yes, yes, go right ahead." Then a robber comes in and says "How much is in that cash register!?" "Twenty Five cents." "Are you talking fresh with me??" "Yes yes, Very Fresh." "Can I kill you?" "Yes, yes, go right ahead!"  
  
Me: That sucked didn't it? Ok, chapter time!  
  
******************************************************************************  
  
Kairi sighed and stared out the window at the downpour. It was so dark out she couldn't see a thing outside. Every now and then there was a flash of lightning. The red-heads gaze went from the outdoors to the room.  
  
Yuffie was sprawled on the couch, reading a YM magazine. Every now and then her gaze would shift from the pages to the door, then return to the 'zine.  
  
Goofy and Donald sat at the table, playing go fish. "Got any threes?" Donald asked.  
  
"Uhhh...nope, Go fish." Goofy answered.  
  
Donald gave a frusterated sigh, then grabbed a card from the pile and returned it to his hand.   
  
Pluto lay on the floor. He sensed the distress in the room and gave a whine. King Mickey scratched the dog's head and his gaze turned to the door and then back to Pluto.  
  
Leon leaned against a wall, arms crossed, gaze never leaving the wooden door.  
  
Yuffie looked up again. "UGGGHHHH, I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!" She howled. "What the heck is taking them so long?!?"  
  
Silence.  
  
"Be patient Yuffie." King Mickey said calmly. Suddenly the door slammed open, causing the rooms occupants to jump.  
  
Riku stood in the doorway, covered in sweat, blood, and rain. His silver hair was dripping with blood and rain. His upper body bobbed lightly as he panted for breath. His shirt had been torn off to reveal his muscular upper body, which was covered in several miner scratches and had a long deep gash down his flank. Riku tossed his head lightly, causing his silver hair to toss over his shoulder in a dramatic way so it caught the rays of light. One Black wing was missing half of it's feather's and bloody, and the other was bent at an odd angle. His black fingerless leather gloves were covered in dried blood and droplets of rainwater. Various large bruises covered his body. His aqua blue eyes were filled with sorrow and pain. The Essence Keyblade and Dragon Keyblade were slung over his left shoulder, and over his left shoulder he   
  
was carrying Sora. (Riku fan girls :*droooooooooooooooooool*)Everyone ran over to the boy at once.  
  
"What the hell happened?!?" Leon demanded.  
  
Riku didn't answer. He walked over to the bed in the room and placed Sora on it.The smaller boy looked terrible. His spikey chestnut hair was matted and it didn't stick up like usual, instead drooping like a willow tree's branches...only really short. A large bruise pretty much covered the right half of his face, which was pretty scratched up. His jacket was ripped and torn, the hood ripped so badly it was only hanging on by a thread. His wings were bloody, and the right one hung limply, the bone broken. The gashes on his arms were bleeding badly, but they were nothing compared to his chest. Riku gently removed Sora's jacket and shirt and carefully inspected the wounds, biting his lip. There was a large gash over his chest, right over his heart. How he could still be living, no one knew. His jeans were torn at the knee so they were more like shorts, they revealed a gash on his right leg that revealed the bone. The Essence Crystal around his neck seemed to be the only thing still completely in one piece. It was glowing dimly, seeming as if the light would go out any second. It was obviously the only thing keeping him alive.  
  
Kairi turned to glare at Riku. She slapped him across the face. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO TALK TO HIM, NOT KILL HIM!!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.  
  
Riku recoiled from the blow and turned to face her, grief in his eyes. He didn't speak, just turned away from Kairi and looked back at Sora, back to everyone. No one could see the silver tear that slid down his cheek.  
  
"Kairi, calm down...he didn't do it because he wanted to, I told him to do it."Mickey said, putting a white gloved hand on the girl's shoulder.  
  
Kairi glared at him."Why'd you tell him to do it?!" She demanded.  
  
Mickey sighed and began to explain. While he was explaining Riku looked down at his best friend.  
  
"Sora......I'm so sorry."He whispered, tears now falling from his eyes, and he was unable to stop them. Sora's chest rose and fell, barely moving.  
  
And then the light in the Crystal went out.  
  
Riku's eyes widened. "Oh no! Sora!" He cried, shaking his best friend. Kairi gasped and rushed over to her boyfriend, placing her hands on the wounds and beginning to heal them. A low hum filled the room as the guardian of light began using all of her power possible. First she pressed her hands against his right arm. Underneath her hand glowed with a white light, and when she removed the hand the wound was gone, replaced by a light scar. She then tended to his other arm, then his legs. She placed both hands over his large wound over his heart and concentrated. Sweat beaded on her forehead from using this much power. Then entire room glowed a gentle blue, and small glowing orbs of stray energy swirled around the room.  
  
'C'mon Sora...please wake up!' Riku pleaded mentally.  
  
*****************  
  
~SpecialAnnouncementSpecialAnnoucementSpecialAnnouncementSpecialAnnouncementSpecialAnnouncementSpecialAnnouncement~  
  
Okay, I decided instead of putting this at the ending authors notes I'd put it here since none of you read the authors notes anyways. So anyways, I've decided to hold a CONTEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's right, a contest. The winner gets to be a reeeeeeeeeeal important OC in this fic!!!!!!!!! So anyways, here's the contest  
  
What you have to do: Draw a poster for Broken Rainbow or Shadow Revenge.  
  
Requirements: Must be colored..........yeah, thats it  
  
Send all entries to: digitaldreamer2000@msn.com  
  
Grand prize: You get to be an OC in Broken Rainbow!  
  
First Prize: You gets an art request of anything!!!  
  
Second prize: You gets an art request with two people/animals in it!  
  
Third prize: You get an art request with one person in it.  
  
Yeah, so break out the pencils and get drawing!!!  
  
And now....back to the fic!  
  
*****************************************************************************  
  
~IntheplacewheretheYuGiOhcharasareIntheplacewheretheYuGiOhcharasareIntheplacewheretheYuGiOhcharasare~  
  
Yugi's labored breathing echoed through the room, bouncing off the stone walls. The crack of a whip was heard, followed by a weak cry. Yugi was chained to a wall. One amethyst eye was swollen shut. His shirt had been torn off, his chest covered in gashes and bruises. There was a huge gash over his right arm that revealed his milk white bone. His face was so bruised up it was pretty much colored gray with teeny spots of lighter more skin colored gray mixed in. His cuts were infected from laying on the dirty ground, which was now a puddle of blood and tears.  
  
Marik smirked at the pitiful sight and cracked the whip threateningly above the smaller boys head, making him flinch.  
  
"Say it weakling."He commanded, a cruel smirk playing across his hard features.  
  
Yugi just looked up at his tormentor, remaining silent. His eyes shined with still falling tears. They shown with pain, regret, fear, sadness, and hurt.  
  
"Say it!" Marik snapped, losing patience. The whip snapped and another cry rang.  
  
'Riku' watched, a silent spectator through it all, hood up so you could not see his expression.  
  
Yugi looked up at Marik with hurt amethyst eyes once more. His amethyst eyes met lavender ones. 'It seems hard to believe that eyes with such an innocent, gentle color could belong to one so cruel', 'Riku' mused.  
  
Marik glared and brought the whip down again.  
  
~Crack!~  
  
The leather strap slashing at the smaller ones right cheek and leaving a long red mark upon his front. The smaller one bit back his scream this time, gritting his teeth and closing his eyes tight.  
  
~Crack!~  
  
Again, no reaction.  
  
~Crack!~  
  
Yugi bit his lip and blood leaked as his teeth came through the skin.  
  
~Crack!~  
  
This time the searing pain was too much. Yugi let out a hoarse scream. Marik glared down at the smaller boy. "So, the boy isn't mute after all."  
  
Yugi opened his eyes once more and looked upon his tormentor.  
  
'It's so odd.' 'Riku' Mused. 'This boy...I sense no hatred from him. Not one bit of it. Not even towards the one harming him, he feels not hatred but sadness, and...pity, for his attacker. Why would he not hate the one harming him? Why is it there seems to be no negativity here? Nothing but childish innocence, nothing but hurt, and broken trust. And yet the boy still does not hate.....how is it possible? It's as if there is no darkness for him to hate with, like it was never there. It just doesn't make sense......how can one be so pure? Lacking hatred, anger....it just doesn't make any sense to me.'  
  
Marik growled at the boy."Now repeat what I told you to say."  
  
Yugi shook his head weakly, it was barely a movement. Marik glared, his eyes flashed. He summoned black flames into his palm. Yugi could feel the heat from where he was chained.  
  
"Say it." Marik's command was answered with silence.  
  
"Fine then...." Marik waved his hand and flames erupted from where Yugi lay. The black flames seared the smaller boys beaten flesh, the white-hot flames burning at the skin of his legs, making the skin crack, blister, and boil. Yugi threw back his head and screamed, tears pouring from his eyes so fast it seemed they were trying to put out the flames.  
  
Marik let this pass for a minute, then waved his right hand and the flames dispersed. Scars were permently embedded upon the skin of the boys legs. Tears slipped from Yugi's eyes and hit the burns. causing steam to rise with a hiss. Marik walked over. He kicked the boys chest, who winced and doubled over, gasping for air. He glared down at the boy, waiting for him to recompose himself.  
  
Yugi sniffled and looked up at the blonde. "Please..........no more..."He pleaded weakly, voice breaking.  
  
Marik's eyes narrowed. "Say it, or I will hurt you again."  
  
Yugi looked down at the ground. "I...I can't....I won't...."He said softly.  
  
Marik didn't show a bit of sympathy. He growled. Pulling a knife from his belt, he slashed both his own arms. The blood seeped from the wounds, he began to chant, all the while glaring at Yugi. The Blood floated in mid air, each droplet thick crimson, floating in mid-fall, as through frozen in a photograph. It began to spin, glowing a dark violet.  
  
Marik finished his incantation and swung both arms outward. The blood seemed to evaporate, and as it evaporated, an orb of crackling black energy began to form. Crimson flames suddenly shot from the ground, faint screams could be heard from the ground from whence the fire came. The flames combined with the energy, which pulsated. A shock wave of energy came from the pulse and slammed into Yugi, who whimpered.  
  
Finally the energy seemed large enough. It exploded. The walls shattered from the force. Nothing could be seen but the darkness, and nothing could be heard...but one thing.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" A long drawn out scream.  
  
The energy finally cleared, and Yugi lay there, shaking from fresh pain, sobs racking his body."Say it." A cold voice broke the smaller boys thoughts.  
  
"I.." Yugi was interrupted as the sensation of being pulled from his body rocked through him. He closed his eyes...maybe he was dead. But he was still breathing, he couldn't be dead. But he thought he was dead.  
  
Because the pain was gone. Yugi cracked open one eye, and he saw he was in the hallway between his and Yami's soul rooms.  
  
"How'd I end up here?"He wondered aloud.  
  
"Because I made you come here." A stern voice said from behind him.  
  
Yugi turned but before he could get all the way around he collapsed to his knees, suddenly feeling very weak. Yami stood before him, arms crossed, one eyebrow raised. Worry was evident on his face. He gently picked up his charge.  
  
Yugi blinked."Y-Yami? Why am I here? I never asked to switch."  
  
"Because I'm taking your place."Yami said simply.  
  
Yugi gasped."No! You can't!" He struggled from Yami's grip, and succeeded in falling to the floor, barely caught by the taller teen.  
  
"Yugi, I have to, I have to protect you."Yami stated.  
  
"But you'll get hurt!"Yugi cried.  
  
"But you're already hurt!"Yami cried back.  
  
"Yami, I won't let you be hurt because of me!" Yugi stated, he began to walk towards the way that led to retake control of his body. He collapsed to his knees once again. Yami rushed to the younger ones size. "Yugi, your selfless-ness is killing you. Look at yourself, your body is pretty much brokenbeyond repair...and this.."He stabbed a finger at Yugi's chest. "This doesn't reflect your Physical wounds, Aibou, this reflects the wounds to your soul."  
  
Yugi looked to the many wounds and back at his Yami. "Yami...I can't just let you go out there....Marik and Bakura really want you...do you know what would happen if you went in my place?" Small tears prickled his eyes.  
  
Yami looked down at his hikari grimly. "Yes, I'm aware of it, but I don't care. I am your protector and I am willing to do anything for your safety."  
  
Yugi looked up at him, defiance in his eyes."Yami, I can't let you.."He began to retake control.  
  
"Yugi wait!"Yami cried.  
  
Yami looked into Yugi's soul room. The lights flickered on and off, signifying energy loss. Yami gasped. "I can't let him go, just switching backright now will kill him.....but he's too stubborn to just come back willingly." Yami closed his eyes and took a deep breath, reopening his eyes to see Yugi's slowly fading form as his charge began to return to the outside world. "Forgive me Aibou."Yami whispered. He placed his right index   
  
and middle finger on Yugi's forehead. There was a flash of black light.  
  
Yugi let out a cry as a sensation like electricity coursing through him came about him. He collapsed to the floor of his soul room, whimpering. Yami walked over and held his light close, who was convulsing violently. Finally the smaller boy regained himself and tried to pull away from his other self. Yami sighed and released the teen from his embrace. Yugi tried to back away as far as possible from his dark as possible.   
  
"W-why'd you do that?" He demanded, small tears still glistening in his eyes which were red from crying. Yami looked back at his light.   
  
"I'm sorry...but that was necessary. " He said. "I needed to make sure you would stay here and rest. If you retake control of your body you'll be dead in no time. You need to rest. And if you wouldn't rest willingly I had no choice but to make it so you can't leave your soul room for a few days okay?" Yami stated, beginning with his usual cool arrogant tone and softening as he saw his irresponsive light.  
  
Yugi looked down at the floor. "Okay.."He said softly.  
  
Yami got down on one knee next to smaller boy, sensing his distress. "Yugi...I'm sorry." He said again.  
  
Yugi sighed. "I know." Obviously something on the floor was very interesting, as Yugi's gaze did not leave it.  
  
"Yugi, look at me."Yami commanded.  
  
Yugi looked up. Tears streamed down his cheeks. "Yami...will we ever get through this? Will we ever get home? Will we ever get to see Jii-chan (*coughs* Japanese for grandpa) again? What if Seto's right........what if there's nothing left? What if no one ever comes...what if-" Yugi broke into sobs.  
  
Yami's cold gaze softened, he put his arms around the smaller boy in a hug meant to fend off the world. "Shh...it's okay, don't cry." He crooned. He held Yugi until the smaller boy's sob's dried out. "Now listen...we'll find a way. Some day we'll get out of here, in fact, it could be soon..."Yami smirked. "When Marik attacked you, it destroyed the collar that holding us back from using magic. Now I'm gonna go out there and kick his ass!"  
  
Yugi smiled tiredly and nodded. Yami picked the smaller boy up and placed him on his bed, pulling the covers over him.  
  
"Now just rest okay? And remember....don't lose faith. You're the great Yugi remember? You can't be losing faith now okay? Just keep believing and somehow, we'll get out of this mess."Yami smiled. Yugi nodded, and then his eyes closed, and he fell asleep instantly.  
  
Yami smirked slightly. "I told you that you were tired." He strode out of the soul room in wrath and took control.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
( Uhhh...sorry again Ryou fans, but I wanted to get this chapter out before a mob of angry fangirls attacked me, so for the next few chapters there will be one yu gi oh section okay? Next chapter will deal with Ryou, and the chapter after that will be the big Yami fight! Anyways, on with the fic!)  
  
~*DestinyIslandsDestinyIslandsDestinyIslandsAhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhScrew it*~  
  
Kairi finally stepped away from Sora's beaten form and waited....Nothing happened. She walked over again and felt for a pulse. Nothing.  
  
"Sora..."She whispered softly. "Not again..."  
  
Yuffie burst into tears suddenly in one corner. "WHHHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!????????? She cried. Leon huggedher and hung his head.  
  
"He's...gone...again.."Kairi's head shot up. "He'll come back though! He always does...he promised...he said we'd share a poupou fruit...on my sixteenth birthday...he promised...."  
  
Yuffie was hysterical. "Kairi! He's already died three times now! How many more chances is he going to get?!?  
  
Leon sighed. "I hate to say it, but it's true Kairi. I don't think he's coming back this time."He shook his head sadly.  
  
Mickey looked down at the ground. "They're right. Sora took the attack head on, no defense. Sora may be the Essence, but he doesn't have quite the stature to survive that."  
  
~BAM!~  
  
Riku pounded his fist onto the table, making everyone jump. Tears poured from the eldest teens eyes. "I'm sorry...I shouldn't have let him take the attack head on...I shouldn't have done that in the first place...I should have figured......I'd end up killing him in the end. He barely survived me back...in hallow bastion....and now I've finally gone and killed him. If It wasn't for me...he'd probably still be here...laughing. He never would have been keyblade master...never would have been stuck with that weight...never been forced to fight me...none of this would have happened if it wasn't for me...and now he's gone." Riku closed his eyes and tears streamed between his closed lids, anguish apparent on his features.  
  
"Sora..I'm so sorry!!"He cried.  
  
Kairi could only stare at her friend...no...her loves body. She walked over and sank to her knees, putting her arms around the corpse. And she sobbed.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
~*InSorasMind(OhhhAhhhh)InSorasMind(OhhhAhhhh)InSorasMind(OhhhhAhhhh)InSorasMind(Ohahhh)InSorasMind(Ohahhhh)*~  
  
/What?...Where am I?/  
  
He floated among the darkness, whispers flowing. He could see it all, even when his eyes were closed. Every life, representing a line, twisting and turning at the meeting of other lines, each line weaving together to create a quilt of shimmering lines. He knew the name of every person each line represented, knew their past, their present...but not their future. He could take the lines, and move them, change them, make them bad or good.  
  
He watched each line, saw peoples lives as they happened. Drifts of conversation fell upon his ears.  
  
"...ha ha ha, yeah, tonight me and Jeff..."  
  
"..I wish for..."  
  
"..Hi Honey! I'm home..."  
  
"..Please just leave me alone..."  
  
"..This can't be happening! He can't.."  
  
You'd think Sora's head would be spinning from it all...yet, he heard, saw, and understood all.  
  
"Riku!"  
  
Sora's eyes widened and he watched the scene before him, detached from his own body. He saw Riku carry him into the shack from his body and from here at the same time. And he saw his line crumble, and twist, and eventually vanish....as his life went with it. And then he couldn't see. But he stillcould. His body was gone...and yet, he still lived.  
  
Sora wasn't with the lines anymore. Instead, he stood between two doors. One was pure light, the other like a river. In some places it was light, then it would become bad and dim to gray, then dark, then back to light.  
  
"Hello, Essence of Heart, Keyblade master....Sora."A femine voice said.  
  
Sora turned. /Who said that!?/ He demanded. Then he stopped in surprise. /Why can't I move my mouth?/  
  
The voice giggled. "How can you move a mouth that you no longer posses?"  
  
/Who are you!? Show yourself!/Sora demanded, in this thought form of speaking.  
  
"Would you prefer I be here in a more visible form for you?"  
  
/Uh yeah, that'd be nice, a visual would be GREAT right now./  
  
The voice giggled again. There was a flash of light, and Sora turned. A beautiful girl stood before him. She had long, waist length violet hair. Herblue eyes shimmered happily. She wore a white halter top hemmed with gold, with long elegant sleeves that fanned out like kimono sleeves. She also wore a silky dark violet skirt, trimmed in gold. a Tiara adorned her head, and golden hoop earring jingled as she tossed her head. She held out a hand, and a golden staff appeared. Shimmering white wings spread from her back.  
  
"I am the messenger Enzeru. " She stated.  
  
"Messenger of whom?" Sora asked.  
  
Enzeru giggled and pointed heavenward, from where a light shone. "Is that good enough an answer?"  
  
Sora's jaw dropped.  
  
Enzeru let out a full laugh, a sound like a swallow chirping on a spring day. "I come here to give you a choice."  
  
"Go on..."  
  
"Essence of Heart...technically, you are to die today." She said, a golden scroll appearing in her hand. She opened it, and scrawled on it in kanji were words Sora couldn't read, but the feel he got from the kanji told him well enough.  
  
"However...you are still needed. A great evil has arisen...you are to be the one to destroy it, Essence of Heart."  
  
Sora nodded. "So I'm going back...only to be tortured again and hopefully win?" His experssion darkened at these words.  
  
Enzeru nodded solemnly, her jubilant nature replaced by calm for a minute. "But...if you can carry out this task...you will be allowed to live until what was originally your date...many years from now, was it's original date, it changed after...well you know, all that."  
  
Sora sighed and nodded. "Okay...I'll do it."  
  
Enzeru shook her head. "Nothing is ever that simple."  
  
Sora groaned. "You're not gonna beat me up too are you?"  
  
Enzeru laughed again. "No silly. What needs to be proven...is that you have something here.." She pointed to his heart. "That proves you are worthy to return to the living realm."  
  
"Okay, what do I have to do?"  
  
Enzeru motioned to a door that appeared behind him. "You'll see."  
  
The door was all black.  
  
Sora sucked in a breath and strode foreword, into the door.  
  
"Good luck, Essence....good luck..."Enzeru whispered, tears in her eyes.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
To Be continued..  
  
Me: There! chapter done!  
  
Ryou fans: DIIIIE!*Attack Crystal*  
  
Me: GAAAAAAHHH! I'M SORRY, HE'LL BE IN NEXT CHAPTER I PROMISE!  
  
Ryou fans: DIIIIIEEEEEEE!  
  
Me: *Runs*  
  
Reviewers:*Finish reading* NO! ANOTHER CLIFFY! DIIIIEEEE!  
  
Me: AHHHHHHHHHH! R&R!!!!!!!! 


	8. Six tests

~*Broken Rainbow*~  
  
By Digitaldreamer  
  
Chapter seven: Six tests  
  
*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************  
  
Entire cast: *sleeping*  
  
Me:*runs in* ACCCCCCCCCCK! I'M SO SORRY GUYS!  
  
Sora: *snorts and wakes up* eh........  
  
Me: *Runs over to reviews and bows* SORRY SORRY SORRY SO SORRY!  
  
Cast: *blinks*  
  
Me: I'm sooooo sorry, I kinda abandoned this fic during B-ball...I'm SOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY! *Bows again*  
  
Reveiwers: *glare*  
  
Me: I'm sorry! It won't happen again, from now on I'm gonna try to update every two weeks, I swear!  
  
Yami:*snorts* yeah.....when h-  
  
Yugi:Yami no swearing!  
  
Yami:*grumbles* But still....I highly doubt you're gonna do that...  
  
Me: *hits Yami over head and whispers to him* YOU know that, and I know that, but do you think THEY know that?  
  
Yami: *whispers rather loudly* Well they do now that you've typed THAT  
  
Me:...oh shut up...  
  
Yami:*rolls his eyes and goes back to writing his list*  
  
Me: Anyways, so sorry! I hope this chapter makes up for things....now for the reveiws!  
  
~star's dreams~  
  
Thank you very much^^ Heh, yeah I geuss I am just a teeny bit cruel. Meh, tis the life of a angst writer. Here, chocolate for you^^  
  
~Tsukishiku~  
  
.....that...is....a HARD name to spell @_@ Anyways, glad you liked this fic^^ Heh, I loved writing Yami's list, nothing more fun that making humar using the beloved Yami's. *punch's Malik for you* Actully...you never know with me...I might just kill em all off for fun and end this story by having a meteor strike the worlds and have everyone die.....nah...too easy.  
  
Sora: WONDERBALL! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!  
  
Riku: I got a better present then you, I got a MOUNTAIN of SUGARCUBES! All YOU got was a mesely wonderball. *snorts*  
  
Sora:*glares*  
  
Riku: *snorts*  
  
Yami:.......a Frozen Pizza...*sends Frozen Pizza and Tsukishiku to the Shadow Relam*  
  
Yugi: *bandaged up* YAMI! *Brings them back*  
  
Yami:...spoil sport...  
  
Anyways, for you, half of my halloween candy (which is two pillow cases full)  
  
~Rem-chan~  
  
Oh my gosh..she reveiwed for my fic again..*dances with much happiness*  
  
Man, you have no idea how much I love it when you review for me....makes me VERY, VERY Happy  
  
Anyways, on with your reveiw, You got the stomach flu? I've never had it...and I'm glad......maybe I should try and get it just so I can stay away from school for a bit though..naaaaaaaaaah.  
  
Yeah....meh..I am very mean to these charecters arn't I?.......maybe I should consider a shrink.  
  
Anyways, I'm getting lazy and I wanna get this chapter out, so here's a bottle of mountain dew and have a nice day.  
  
~crystal-chan~  
  
*Nods* Okay, okay, I didn't forget Ryou-chan this time, m'kay? Here's a chicken though...you know, just in case.....  
  
~Celtic Gaurdian~  
  
Last chapter was SOOO not that bad! I can do worse, really! lookie, here's my update, be happy!  
  
~Sakura, wolf/human angel~  
  
Dear god, you don't have a scanner..*pats your back* I pity you. Okay here's a chocolate donut for you^^  
  
~Cloud-123~  
  
YEAH! BLOW UP THE SCHOOL! GO GO GO GO GO!!! Hee hee, ice cream for you!  
  
~PrincessSwifty~  
  
AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! *Hides behind her big dragon gaurdian, Cinder* Protect me!!!  
  
Cinder:*snorts* you're on your own, kid.  
  
*twitches and hides*  
  
Erm..*hands you a GIANT box of sugar cubes* HERE'S THE NEXT CHAPTER, DUN HURT ME!  
  
~Flikfreak~  
  
Next chapter YES! Next Chapter...YES!  
  
Here's a lollipop, have fun.  
  
~shadow-of-hearts~  
  
...*looks at last chapter* she did not mess up the spacing...anyways..YOU SAID POOR KAIRI! *Cackles, hands you a bag of sour skittles, and runs*  
  
~Jade Star~  
  
....HOW CAN YOU LIKE THE FACT THAT I KILLED SORA!? *Whacks you over the head with mallet* BAD JADE STAR! BAD BAD BAD BAD BAAAAAAD! *pants* I'm not giving you ANYTHING for liking the fact that RIKU killed Sora. *sticks out toungue*....*feels guilty and hands you a tootsie roll, stalks off*  
  
~windflame~  
  
Oh, beleive me, things can get waaaaaaaay worse. I've hardly done ANYTHING yet. *cackles* GET THEM VITAL ORGANS! Here, an axe for you.  
  
~Ari Powwel~  
  
Are you kidding? I LOVE long reveiws! They're my fave kind to get^^ Long reveiw of doom? Sounds like fun, so long as it's compliments...if it's flame...DIE!  
  
Anyways, sank you for your long reveiw, gimme another one will ya?  
  
Here, now you get a Dragon winged Bakura Plushie^^  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Sora:...uh....Crystal does not own Kingdom Hearts...  
  
Me: Yeah..CHAPTER TIME!  
  
********************************************************************************************************************************************************************  
  
Sora couldn't believe his eyes.  
  
Birds chirped. The wind blew through the palm trees. The waves crashed against the sugar-white beaches. The ocean was a pale shade of pink, the sun setting over the horizon, shades of fuchsia, crimson, and gold tinting the azure ocean. The seagulls chirped. Over to his left was the pier, to his right the shack and the bridge leading to paopu island.  
  
Destiny Island.  
  
Sora dropped to his knees, feeling the warm sand between his fingers. It was real. But it couldn't be. Essence Point wasn't there, Leon and Yuffie's house wasn't here. This wasn't Destiny Island....this was Destiny Island as it appeared two years ago.  
  
Sora looked over at the paopu tree coming from paopu island.  
  
And his heart stopped.  
  
Because he was staring into his own sapphire eyes. Sora watched himself laying on the rough trunk of the paopu tree next to Kairi, whilst Riku leaned against the tree below them.  
  
It was impossible.  
  
But here it was.  
  
"So...Kairi's home is out there somewhere....right?"  
  
Sora bit his lip. He sounded so innocent...so trusting back then. He was so.. happy.  
  
"Could be. We'll never know by staying here."  
  
And there was Riku, like he should be.  
  
"Suppose you get to another world? Hee hee....what would you do there?"  
  
Sora smiled sadly. Kairi......  
  
"I don't know...It's just I've always wondered why we're here, on this island. If there are other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one?" Younger Riku looked up at Sora and Kairi. "We could have just as easily ended up on some other world, right?"  
  
Sora looked on. This is what started it all.....what would have happened if something different had happened? What if he'd had asked Riku not to try and go to other worlds, try to keep Riku in the light...what would have happened then?  
  
Younger Sora shrugged, leaning back against the paopu tree. "I don't know.." He said.  
  
Sora couldn't believe how ignorant they'd been. Couldn't they have seen that other worlds weren't as great as they seemed to believe? Couldn't they see the darkness already eating at them? Couldn't they see the storm coming, already so near? Couldn't they see?  
  
The brunet wanted to run forward and shake the children, wanted to cry "Are you blind!? Can't you see the stage you're setting!? Can't you see!?" But his legs wouldn't move, they felt numb. He tried to turn his eyes away from the innocent sight, but his eyes were glued to that spot.. to himself.  
  
But that wasn't him. Not after all that had happened, after all he had said and done, not after all he'd been through.  
  
That wasn't him anymore.  
  
"Stop denying yourself, keyblade master." A calm, serene voice stated behind him.  
  
The beach faded away, leaving nothing but black.  
  
"Get up." The voice commanded.  
  
Sora slowly stood and turned his head.  
  
There stood a women, about the age of nineteen. She had long, flowing silver hair that reached to her knees, the bangs hanging in the way of azure eyes. She wore a dark blue strapless shirt that seemed to be held tight enough to stay on her by the diamond on the top at the center. The shirt glittered in the light and stopped just above her stomach. She wore a long black velvet dress, and odd, silvery netting was draped around it, spiraling around the dress to trail over the ground. White wings expanded from her back, glimmering in an unseen light.  
  
".....Okay, who are you?" Sora asked, blinking.  
  
"I am the angel of memory, Kioku." The angel replied, nodding sagely.  
  
"And.. uh.. I'm Sora." Sora said. "So, why am I here?" He asked.  
  
"Blunt as always, eh?" The silver-haired women said with a bemused expression.  
  
"You could say that. I just want to get this done." Sora said bitterly.  
  
"Well, you could start by changing that." The women replied.  
  
Sora blinked. "Changing what?"  
  
The women sighed sadly. "You know keybearer. You aren't acting like yourself. What happened to the happy Sora? The kind Sora? The courageous Sora? The one we all know and miss?"  
  
Sora bit his lip and looked away. "How many times do I have to say he's gone?" Sora asked quietly.  
  
"He's still there, he's still you, you've just buried yourself away. You've forgotten yourself. Partially Lucifer's fault, and partially your own. Lucifer may have planted the seed, but your doubt, your anger, your fear, your unwillingness to face the truth, that made it grow."  
  
Sora looked into the darkness. "Are you saying this is my fault?"  
  
"In a way."  
  
Sora bit his lip again, this time drawing blood. "Maybe you're right...."He said. "Maybe I was also right, and the keyblade shouldn't have come to me, or the essence crystal. Maybe both were meant for a more capable person.." He said with a sigh.  
  
"No, both were meant for you. Riku was to hold a keyblade, yes, but so were you."  
  
Sora laughed tiredly. "I doubt that. They both belong to a stronger, more capable person than me."  
  
Kioku rolled her eyes. "See.....thats why you're here. You gave up. You let the darkness in, and in turn...you've forgotten what truly happened, you've forgotten who you are. And if someone tells you, you try to forget it, because you're afraid to remember. I know it's hard. But now you have to reach inside, and bring back who you used to be. You cannot hide from destiny in lies." The angel stated.  
  
Sora looked down at the ground. Then he looked up at Kioku, his sapphire eyes flashing, and his cocky smile adorning his face. "Okay, what do I have to do?" He asked.  
  
The silver-haired angel smiled. She walked up to Sora and pressed her hand lightly against his forehead.  
  
There was a flash of silver light, and Sora closed his eyes.  
  
When he opened them Kioku was gone, but before him was a silver door.  
  
"Before you is the door of the first Seika Kentan. There are six Kentan, and you must pass each. Fail, and you will be trapped here forever. I wish I could help you more...but I can't. Good luck Keyblade Master." Kioku's voice whispered.  
  
And the last of Destiny Islands warmth left the darkness.  
  
*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************  
  
Bakura growled to himself as he stalked into his private quarters (which in my opinion still sounds wrong...)graciously given to him by Riku. It wasn't exactly the largest place in the world, but it had one room to sleep in with a bed, and another room that was a kitchen/dining room/living room so it was pretty cool. Bakura closed the metal door with a slam and stalked through the stone room, throwing his leather cape to the floor. He stopped for a moment and sniffed, a burnt smell coming to his nostrils. He glared around the room until his mahogany eyes set upon the stove/oven.  
  
The silver-haired spirit walked over to the kitchenette and pulled open the oven to find what probably had been a whole chicken now burning. Bakura rolled his eyes and waved his hand, water drenching the no longer recognizable meat. He shut the oven and turned it off.  
  
Instead of cleaning the mess, he searching for the person he knew was the cause of it. He scanned the room, and after finding it empty, opened the door to the bed room.  
  
He eyed the dark room, not even bothering to turn on the light. He stalked right over to the white sheeted bed and tore the sheets off.  
  
There, sleeping peacefully, was a teenager identical to Bakura. He was the same size and everything, the difference being his hair was not as spiked, and he was covered in bruises and gashes.  
  
Bakura growled and reached down, gripping the boy by his hair and pulling him upwards.  
  
Both the teens chestnut eyes opened wide and a cry escaped the boys throat as he opened his eyes to meet the mahogany eyes of his other half.  
  
"B-Bakura!?" He cried, surprised.  
  
His Yami promptly responded by slamming the boy into the stone wall. Bakura's eyes narrowed. "Did I not tell to always refer to me as Master!?" He demanded.  
  
"Y-yes...." The teen stuttered.  
  
"Yes WHAT!?" Bakura demanded pulling the boy towards him again until their faces were inches apart.  
  
"Y-yes Master."  
  
Bakura's glare didn't lighten. "I believe I told you to make me dinner, now tell me this, why is it burned to a crisp? And WHY ARE YOU SLEEPING IN MY BED!?" He howled, throwing his lighter half to the floor.  
  
The teen didn't answer.  
  
"Well then, RYOU!?" Bakura demanded, stepping closer, using the teens name as a curse word.  
  
Ryou looked up at his Yami. "I'm sorry master..." He said softly, small tears forming in his eyes.  
  
Bakura kicked the boy in the ribs, sending him crashing into the opposite wall. "I ALSO told you never to look me in the eyes!" He growled.  
  
Ryou's shoulders shook and he looked down at the blood-stained floor. "Yes Master." He whispered.  
  
Bakura walked over to his hikari and pulled him up by the collar of his shirt this time. "And you STILL haven't explained to me why you were in my bed." He growled.  
  
Ryou closed his eyes and didn't answer.  
  
Bakura growled and pulled his other half's face closer to his. "Answer me." He hissed.  
  
Ryou whimpered but said nothing, knowing it would do him no good now. He knew speaking out against the tomb robber would only make things worse...and he was sick of fighting.  
  
Crack!  
  
Bakura back-fisted the teen in the face. Ryou winced but did nothing. His Yami growled angrily.  
  
He threw the teen against the wall and kicked at the hikari's chest. Ryou bit his lip but made no other response.  
  
Bakura walked towards Ryou, gripping a handful of silver and yanking the boys head up. "I see my little slave needs to be taught a lesson." He hissed.  
  
Ryou winced but made no sound.  
  
Bakura glared at the boy and turned him around so his back was to Bakura. Bakura then kneed the smaller boy in the back, knocking the teen to his knees.  
  
Before Ryou could blinked he found his hands bound to the metal handle of door. He whimpered quietly and tried to press himself against the metal he was bound too, shuddering as he wished he could just fade through the metal, wishing he could escape what he knew was coming.  
  
Bakura stepped behind him, looking at his lights reflection in the blade he now held. Bakura smirked coldly.  
  
(okay...WARNING! EPIC AND BLOODY AND GRUESOME TORTURE ESCAPADE AHEAD, THOSE DISGUSTED BY SUCH THINGS SHOULD SKIP AHEAD!)  
  
Kneeling down, he brought the knife to Ryou's face. He gently ran the knife over Ryou's pale skin, not so as to cut him, but lightly enough so he could feel the edge running over his cheek. Ryou did nothing.  
  
Frowning, Bakura slashed over the boys cheek, lightly, but enough to draw blood. Bakura caressed a finger over the cut and licked the crimson blood from his fingertips, a gleeful grin coming over his face. Ryou opened his eyes slightly and, spotting the grin, shuddered.  
  
Bakura brought his lips to the wound and sucked away every drop of blood he could get from the wound, slashing the boy's shoulder next, then drinking from there. Several cuts were adorned on the boy's body, some made over old, barely healed wounds. you shivered but said nothing, made no sound.  
  
Bakura used the knife to cut away what remained of the boys tattered shirt and slashed a light wound over his chest.  
  
Ryou was now shuddering from pain and fear, he whimpered loudly.  
  
Bakura laughed coldly. "Scared Ryou?"  
  
Ryou slowly nodded.  
  
Bakura smiled. "You shouldn't be scared.."  
  
He brought his lips close to his hikari's ear. "You should be terrified." He whispered.  
  
And then he buried the knife into the flesh of Ryou's back.  
  
Ryou let out a barely distinguishable cry.  
  
"So, you can talk after all." Bakura sneered. "Good to know, I was about to cut that tongue of yours."  
  
Ryou cried weakly, tears now pouring from his eyes.  
  
Bakura smirked as he drew the blade around in a circle over the boys spine. Ryou screamed and Bakura laughed, finally pulling the blade out and licking it, before plunging it back into the boys back.  
  
Ryou screamed and thrashed, pain too much to bear, tears coming from his eyes like silver rain.  
  
Bakura laughed coldy, carving the eye of Ra into the boys back, Ryou trying to thrash away.  
  
Finally Bakura pulled the blade away, blood dripping from the wound. He laughed coldly, caressing the wound as Bakura's screams became quieter, beginning to feel light headed from blood loss.  
  
(Okay, that's it for the torture scene!)  
  
"If you disobey again..."Bakura whispered into Ryou's ear. "I'll do worse then this.."  
  
Ryou's world faded to black, and he slumped to the floor, knocked out.  
  
Bakura smirked. "I'll just leave you here.." He said, treading over the blood caked stone floor and back into the other room.  
  
The Yami fell back onto the couch and closed his eyes, smiling as he licked a stray drop of blood from his fingers. "Not bad.. satisfies my blood lust...for the moment.." He whispered.  
  
/BAKURA! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!?/ Malik's voice rang through the link Yami's share.  
  
Bakura jumped to his feet instantly.  
  
//Gee, I don't know.// Bakura shot back. //Maybe taking my break, why?//  
  
/BECAUSE THE STUPID PHARAOH GOT IN CONTROL AND HE SOMEHOW GOT THE COLLAR OFF!!!/  
  
Bakura's eyes widened. //WHAT!? HOW!??//  
  
/MY ATTACK WAS TOO STRONG, NOW GET OVER HERE!/  
  
Bakura sighed, then grinned slightly, picking up his belts filled with weapons and such. This was the moment he'd been waiting for. Finally, to get revenge on the Pharaoh..  
  
//Okay, I'm on my way seeing as you can't seem to handle him.// Bakura said as he stormed out of his room, cape trailing behind him.  
  
'You're going to regret the day you met me Pharaoh..'  
  
*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************  
  
After Sora stepped through the silver door the first thing he noticed was LIGHTS! Lots of lights!  
  
Sora covered his eyes quickly, groaning at the pain that only comes when someone is in total darkness and suddenly gets hit with tons of neon lights. Sora slowly opened his eyes and let them adjust.  
  
"..Aw man." He muttered.  
  
Neon lights flashed everywhere, coming from signs bolted to the tops of many buildings. 'The item shop' one read 'Accessories' one read, the ever popular cafe just beside the item shop.  
  
No doubt, he was in Traverse Town.  
  
"Well then, now that you've figured out where you are, Sora." The keyblade master muttered to himself. "Might as well look around until someone mystically pops up, as usual, and tells you stuff.."  
  
And with the customary flash of light, a teenage girl appeared before him.  
  
She was rather tall, with flowing emerald locks of hair trailing to her waist. She wore a white one strapped top, stopping at her belly button, which had a tattoo of stars and moons around it. The jeans she wore were black leather and was held up with two dark blue double holed belts. An odd belt like thing was wrapped around her middle, hanging from the belt was a sort of half skirt like thing that covered her right hip and leg, shimmering silver and gold and hanging down to her right ankle. (if you've seen Yuna's gunner costume from FFX-2, think the dress thing in the costume and make it gold and silver and there you go) Belts were strapped around her thighs to hold two hand-guns, and other weapons hung from her two belts that held the jeans up.  
  
Her face showed no emotion and she stood perfectly straight. She tilted her head slightly, causing her straight emerald hair to move with it. She blinked her cool blue eyes. "So. You are the Essence. It is a pleasure to finally meet you." The women bowed curtly and stood. She raised a perfectly arched eyebrow at the boy.  
  
Sora blinked slightly and then quickly bowed as well. "Uh.. ditto here, whoever you are." He said.  
  
The women regarded him keenly for a few moments before turning briskly. "Come." She said coolly and began walking at a fast pace.  
  
Sora followed, trying to walk as well but finding her couldn't keep up with her long strides that well, so he often fell behind.  
  
"So.. uh... what's you're name?" Sora asked after a few minutes of silent walking.  
  
"I am Kimmu." The women said curtly.  
  
Sora nodded. "I'm Sora."  
  
"I see." Kimmu replied, saying no more.  
  
The two stepped into the third distract.  
  
"Stand back." Kimmu commanded.  
  
The teen stood for a moment and two white wings, shimmering with odd little glitters of green, burst from her back. She pulled the two hand guns from their holsters. She held one hand up and pointed one gun at the sky, then pointed the other gun towards the ground.  
  
"Hikitsudzuku.." She whispered. She pulled the trigger of both guns.  
  
An explosion of blackness flashed from the one pointing downwards, an explosion of white came from the gun pointing upwards.  
  
The two beams of black and white spun around, black spinning in a spiral then going up, white spinning in a lazy circle then going down. The two beams collided and there was a flash of light.  
  
When the light cleared, Sora stood alone on a small island, hardly bigger then a few yards.  
  
"Wha....where'd she go!? And where am I!?"  
  
There was a glimmer of light from the ground. Sora blinked slowly, then bent down and picked it up.  
  
It was a star shaped crystal, not much bigger then Sora's palm, emerald in color.  
  
'That is the Aurubaito Gem.' Kimmu's sharp voice rang in Sora's head. 'You now stand on one of the lone islands of this world. You need to fly north to the very edge of the world, at the end of the prism sea. You need to place it at my statue. You have until sunset.'  
  
Sora nodded. "No problem." He said as he looked up at the sun, high in the sky.  
  
'One thing though. If you fail, you, and you're entire island, will be completely erased. Forever.'  
  
Sora's eyes widened. "That's not fair!" He snapped. "Just if I fail doesn't mean you have to kill everyone."  
  
'True.' Kimmu's voice stated. 'But life isn't always fair. Is it, keyblade master?'  
  
"Ggggrrrrr..."  
  
'Better get going keyblade master. You have until sunset, and you have many miles to cross.'  
  
Sora closed his eyes and nodded. "I won't let them down.."  
  
'Very good. And remember...Time stops for no one.'  
  
*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************  
  
To be continued..  
  
Me: *nows* I know, not much action in this chapter, not the best way to get your forgiveness is it?  
  
Ryou: *moans in pain*  
  
Bakura: *cackles*  
  
Me: *whacks Bakura over the head* SHUT UP YOU SICKO!  
  
Bakura: @_@  
  
Me:...eh heh heh anyways...Read and Review!! 


	9. If only tears could bring you back

~*Broken Rainbow*~  
  
By:Digitaldreamer  
  
Chapter Eight:If only tears could bring you back  
  
***********************************************************************************************************************************************************  
  
Me: *stares at reveiw number*.......Oh..............My.....GAWD!*Runs to cast* WE HIT THE 100 REVEIW MARK!!!!!!!!!!!!!w00t!!!!!!  
  
Cast: O________O WE DID???!?  
  
Me:*nods and points to the pretty-ful number beneath the story*  
  
Riku: Whoa o_O I didn't even think we'd get to ten, seeing how horribly you write...  
  
Me:......*pionts to the Various Riku-fangirl reviewers who are being held back by an extremely big fence* You want me to turn them lose?  
  
Riku Fangirls: RIIIIIKKKKKKKKKKUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Riku: O_O uh...no....thats okay......  
  
Me: That's right......now...where were we?Oh yeah, reveiwers!  
  
~Crystalia~  
  
Hiya^^ Nice ta see ya again, of course I remember you. M'kay, heres da chapter, and here's some popcorn, enjoy^^  
  
~Lara~  
  
Holy crap! Four reveiws! Sweeeet! Okay, as for Jou...what do you expect? This is an angst fic...and Hikari means light in japanese, Yami means dark just so you know, so Yami basically refers to Yugi as his light. And why did I kill Mokuba? Cause I felt like it. And here's some chocolate.  
  
~PrincessSwifty~  
  
O_O DON'T KILL YAMI BAKURA! I NEED HIM FOR THE FIC!  
  
Oh..and I'm sorry to say, there shall be no Yami killing people this chapter...*coughs* Here's a wonderball...*runs*  
  
~Ari Powwel~  
  
That has to be the shortest review you've ever written. XPP You're welcome for the Ryou and Bakura plushies, but because you're review wasn't as long, you'll just have to settle for a Riku plushie this time...  
  
Oi, and I haven't gotten ANY submissions for my contest *sighs*  
  
Anyways, on with the chappie, eh?  
  
~ElegantArrow 64~  
  
I have a fan? AWESOME! Sweet, you're making your own keyblade? MAKE ME ONE TOO! LUCKY! Here, a Sora plushie for you^^  
  
~Kako2~  
  
Oh shush you  
  
~crystal-chan~  
  
Oh jeez...can't believe people like the Ryou-kun so much..*sweatdrops* Eh, here...*gives you a Ryou plushie*  
  
~star's dreams~  
  
....What does vivid mean? *blinks* Erm...thanks.....here, a wonderball for you^^  
  
~windflame~  
  
Yami won't kill em this chapter, so sorry^^;; here, chocolate for you  
  
~Jade Star~  
  
Meh, NEVER SAY SUCH THINGS ABOUT SORA-KUN AGAIN, YOU HEAR!? *Hands you another tootsie roll*  
  
~Orodruin~  
  
Ah, Bakura's not overly cruel, he's just a frikken jerk. Here, rock candy for you.  
  
~Tsukishiku~  
  
hmmm...now how could I just leave Ryou like that? Oh...I know...cause Bakura's a jerk. Riku doesn't know where Sora is...because he doesn't. Of COURSE this Riku isn't Destiny Islands Riku...he is RIKU, however. He is, but he isn't.  
  
Sora:..................why would I want a Riku keychain? *munches on wonderballs*  
  
Riku: *munches on Sugar and tosses Sora keychain to Kairi*  
  
Yami: *Puts Dark Magicain on table*...*growls* Don't think just because of this it's okay...  
  
Yugi: Oh Yami stop being so stubborn *huggles his Dark Magician*  
  
Yami: *growls*  
  
Ryou: *blinks at the do it yourself voodoo kit* Why would I want something like this?  
  
Yami: *munches on frozen pizza, which is still frozen* To kill your Yami...  
  
Ryou: But that's mean!  
  
Cast: *sweatdrops*  
  
Me: Okay, here, a Sora plushie for you^^  
  
~soraoathkeeper~  
  
Well...that sucks. Anyways, here's a cookie.  
  
~Flikfreak~  
  
*Whaps Skailer as well* Here's a cookie, get reading!  
  
~~~~  
  
Disclaimer: .............*coughIdon'townyugiohorkhCough*  
  
Me: Okay, chapter time.  
  
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Sora flapped his wings, hovering for a moment to whip some sweat from his brow. "How long have I been flying?" He wondered aloud, looking up at the sun, now high in the sky.  
  
Sora groaned a little. "I started just when the sun is rising, and three fourth's of the day is over and all I've seen for miles is ocean, ocean, and more ocean except for that one tiny island I started at." He muttered, flapping up high to gain a bit of altitude, then diving at a sort of foreword slant to go faster.  
  
"And it just HAD to be the ocean.........no updrafts, no nothing, just dead air..." He continued, muttering things you probably don't understand unless you're a freak and you spend your time learning about flying or you actually have wings. He sighed a little. "Though I guess I can't complain, the army lady might hit me with lightning or something."  
  
He flew for moment while in silence. Something slowly came into view on the horizon and he squinted to see better.  
  
"It's an island! Awesome!!!!" He started beating his wings faster in hopes of getting to the green island faster.  
  
About an hour later he flew towards the sandy beach and landed, folding his wings across his back.  
  
"Might as well see if anyone lives here." He said to himself as he made his way across the sandy beach and into the forest near it. "Oh...perfect, there's a path here, that's good." He followed the cleared trail as he made his way past many trees, flowers, and over a small river using a bridge.  
  
Eventually he came to a small town, actual real houses, made of wood or bricks, with glass windows and normal doors, several stores near the various houses, a temple at the far end of the "street". Sora blinked slowly, then shrugged. "Maybe they'll give me something to eat!" He said to himself with a grin. Yes, food sounded very good at the moment.  
  
He walked through the town, noting people walking here and there, talking about regular things and wearing regular modern clothes. "Weird...you'd think this being an island in the middle of nowhere this place wouldn't be so.. well....modern." He said to himself. ".....Why do I keep on talking to myself!?" He wondered aloud. "Argh! Stop doing that Sora! Stop talking to yourself!"  
  
People stopped to stare at the odd brunette with wings who was apparently having an argument with himself, before quickly walking by.  
  
Finally Sora got a hold of himself after noticing the bug eyed look various people were giving him. He grinned sheepishly. "Uh...hi...." He said to the current people who were staring at him, a women and her child.  
  
"Hi!" The child said back, but the mother quickly pulled him away.  
  
"Don't converse with strangers honey...especially that one..."She said as she pulled him towards the nearest shop.  
  
Sora sweatdropped. "That's right, Sora, scare the locals..." He said sarcastically, seeming to forget he had just been yelling at himself not to talk to himself.  
  
It was then that a small little girl walked up to the keyblade master. She was about three feet tall, with short blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore a blue hoodie and blue jeans. She tugged on Sora's pant leg.  
  
"Mister..." She said softly, aquamarine eyes brimming with tears.  
  
Sora looked down at the girl, and instantly knelt to his knees so he was eye level with her. "What's wrong?" He asked.  
  
"I've lost my mommy and daddy." She whimpered, and then the tears began to flow. "I just stopped for a minute, and...and....then they were gone..."  
  
Sora smiled and he put his arm around the girl. "Hey...it's okay.. don't cry. " He said, bringing up a gloved hand to brush away the girls tears. "You'll find your parents, I'm sure they're around here somewhere...you'll find them."  
  
The girl looked up at the boy who had comforted her, sniffling. Then she smiled shyly. "Will you help me find my mommy and daddy?" She asked.  
  
Sora blinked. "I..I.." He looked up at the sky, where the sun was slowly beginning the set, casting an orange glow over the town, rays of shimmering light casting over the town. 'You have until sunset, and you have many miles to cross...' Kimmu's voice whispered in his mind. Sora bit his lip. 'Time stops for no one'  
  
Sora looked down at the little girl, who looked about ready to cry again. He smiled softly, that smile soon turning into his signature grin. 'Well....regardless, this girl needs my help now. And I can't just leave her here to cry. It...wouldn't be right.' "C'mon, lets go find your parents." He said, taking her hand in his.  
  
The girl smiled. "Thank you mister.."  
  
*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************  
  
(Erm...just a suggestion....the lyrics in this part are from a song called "If only tears could bring you back" by Midnight Sons....yes, I did get it off of the poke'mon the first movie sound track, so sue me.....anyways, if you can find it on kazaa or something and play it while reading this part...heck...it might seem..I dunno..prettier..and if you can't find the song, try finding the FFX piano song, which is also...sad sounding,or FFX's Suteki De Ne, orcastra version...also sad..)  
  
Kairi bit her lip, holding Sora's limp hand in her own, staring down at his closed eyes, his beaten face. Tears continued to stream down her face, silent sobs coming from her throat.  
  
/How will I start tomorrow without you here?/  
  
Yuffie sighed, not really enjoying the uncomfortable silence that had settled itself over the cabin, only broken every once and awhile by Kairi's sobs. She lay back in her Laz-E-boy chair, really starting to wish this was all just a really bad dream and if she pinched herself she would wake up in her bed with Leon, and go through her usual morning stuff, and go outside to find everything was at it should be. She pinched herself.  
  
"Ow!"  
  
Yup...she was awake.. and the room fell into silence once more.  
  
/Who's heart will guide me while the answers disappear?/  
  
Leon leaned against the wall, staring out the window at the rain, watching as it pelted against the glass, never letting up, as if the world itself were crying.  
  
/Is it too late, are you too far gone to stay?/  
  
Donald and Goofy were still playing cards....sort of...Goofy was bawling behind his cards and Donald was muttering to himself...and neither of them had really done anything in the last hour.  
  
/Best friends forever should never have to go away../  
  
Riku was currently occupying a corner, black wings wrapped around himself, aquamarine eyes set upon the prone figure of the keyblade master, glimmering tears trailing down his cheeks, tinted with silver light. 'Why...why did I have to...I should have done something...should have found a different way...why do I have to go cause him such pain all the time?'  
  
/What will I do? You know I'm only half without you/  
  
/How will I make it through?/  
  
/If only tears could bring you back to me/  
  
/If only love could find a way (find a way)/  
  
/What I would do, what I would give if you'd/  
  
/Return to me, (you'd return) someday, some how, some way/  
  
/If my tears could bring you back to me/  
  
Kairi only continued to cry, sobs racking her shoulders as she shook. 'You promised you'd always be with me...you promised you'd always come back..'  
  
/I'd cry you an ocean, if you'd sail on home again/  
  
/Wings of emotion will carry you and all they can/  
  
'If I had just held back....just asked him not take an attack head on.....'  
  
/Just like love guides you and your heart will chart the course/  
  
/Soon you'll be drifting into the arms of your true north/  
  
'You promised you'd stay with me forever...you promised....we were going to share a paopu on my sixteenth birthday...you were going to take me to other worlds......you promised.....'  
  
/Look in my eyes, (look in my eyes) you'll see a million tears have gone by/  
  
/And still they're not dry/  
  
'If it weren't for me he'd still be here...laughing....playing...happy...still the Sora we knew...'  
  
/If only tears could bring you back to me/  
  
/If only love could find a way (find a way)/  
  
/What I would do, what I would give if you'd/  
  
/Return to me, (you'd return) someday, some how, some way/  
  
/If my tears could bring you back to me/  
  
Kairi suddenly threw herself upon Sora's body and held him too her, sobbing.  
  
/I'd hold you close, and shout the words I've only whispered before../  
  
"Why did you have to die!!?" She cried, practically choking on her own tears. "Why!? You promised you'd always be with me! You promised!"  
  
/For one more chance, (one more chance) for one last dance, there's not a thing That I would not endure/  
  
Kairi continued to cry, hugging her love's lifeless body to her. "Why aren't my tears working this time..." She whispered after awhile. "Aren't you coming back? Or...have you faded away?" More tears slipped from her cheeks.  
  
/If only tears could bring you back to me/  
  
/If only love could find a way (find a way)/  
  
/What I would do, what I would give if you'd/  
  
/Return to me, (you'd return) someday, some how, some way/  
  
/If my tears could bring you back to me/  
  
*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************  
  
Sora sighed as he looked up once more at the sky, then back at the girl whom he was leading through the streets. They'd been searching for an hour and had found no one.  
  
What was really irritating was that Sora being the Essence, finding this girls parents should have hardly taken a minute. He should have been able to merely close his eyes and concentrate and be able to pick out which two of the many lifelines weaved round this town that were connected to this girl in a snap. But that was what troubled him, there were no lines of light, no sign of any life here, as if the people weren't real. The only life he could sense came from himself and the girl.  
  
But...it had to be real. How else could he be touching the water of the fountain he was sitting next to, feeling the cold liquid run over his fingers, how could he see the sun slowly fading into the night, how could have come up to those people and tapped them lightly on the shoulder, asking if they knew this girl. How could they not be real if they all answered no?  
  
Sora shook his head, standing to his feet and beckoning the small girl back over to him. "I promised to find her parents, and I will." He told himself.  
  
The girl shivered and buried her face into one of the keyblade master's wings. "We-we've been searching forever, and we haven't found them." She said sadly.  
  
Sora nodded. "Yeah..I know. Lets keep looking."  
  
The girl looked up at him. "Mister, you don't have to stay anymore. I can tell you need to be somewhere else. Y-You can leave." She said, another tear slipping down her cheek.  
  
Sora looked down at the girl and knelt down so he was at her level. "Don't cry.." He said, wiping away her tears once more. "It doesn't matter what I want at the moment, you need help now. We're gonna find your parents...okay?"  
  
"B-but.."  
  
"We WILL find them okay? I promise we will." Sora said, a grin coming across his face.  
  
The girl smiled as well. "T-thank you..."  
  
"Airen! There you are!" A female voice cried.  
  
Both Sora and the girl looked up to spot a middle-aged women with waist length blonde hair running up to them, aquamarine eyes glittering. She ran over to the girl, whom Sora now assumed was 'Airen' and pulled her into a hug.  
  
"Mommy!!" Airen cried happily, practically latching onto her mothers waist in a death grip.  
  
Sora smiled at their reunion.  
  
"Oh! Airen! Are you okay!? Did you get hurt!? Who's that guy!?" The women babbled.  
  
Airen giggled, looking up at her mother and back at Sora. "It's okay mommy...this mister over here helped me." She smiled. "He helped me look for you..even when he has to go somewhere."  
  
The women smiled and stood. "Thank you very much."  
  
Sora grinned. "You're welcome."  
  
"Oh..um...I don't suppose you've seen my husband anywhere?"  
  
Sora blinked, then shook his head.  
  
The women groaned. "He was supposed to be here..." She said sadly.  
  
Sora blinked again. "What does he look like?"  
  
"Um..he's taller then me, has spikey blonde hair, blue eyes, he has pretty tan skin and he's wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans."  
  
Sora grinned again. "Hey, just stay here and take a break, I'll go look for him, okay?"  
  
"But I thought you had somewhere to go.."  
  
"Ah, don't worry about it, it can wait." Sora said, turning around. "Just stay here, I'll bring your husband to you."  
  
The women smiled. "Thank you.."  
  
The girl giggled. "Thank you mister."  
  
Sora nodded and flapped his wings, taking to the air. "Okay...lesse here.....Blonde hair, blue eyes, tall with some kinda t-shirt on. Well, this shouldn't be too hard!" He said cheerfully, again to himself.  
  
He didn't fly for very long, as he soon spotted the man he was looking for walking in an alleyway.  
  
Too bad he wasn't alone.  
  
The man was backed against the wall, breathing heavily, various bruises covering his body, his white T-shirt torn.  
  
"I told ya's to give us yer money!" A teen boy yelled, several other boys behind him, most with bleached and spiked hair, way too many body piercing, tattoos, and looking practically like they spent every day of their lives in some kind of brawl.  
  
Sora's eyes narrowed as he watching the blonde haired man take a kick in the chest. With out a second though he dove into the alley, flaring his wings at the last second and landing on his feet in front of the man.  
  
"Five against one? That's' not very fair." Sora stated, a cocky grin adorning his face.  
  
One of the boys stepped up to Sora, about a foot taller then him. "Hey kid, get outta here." He sneered.  
  
Sora stood his ground, eyes narrowing. "YOU get out of here, leave this guy alone."  
  
The teen laughed. "A pipsqueak like You is telling ME what to do? You hear that guys!?" He looked back at his 'gang', all of which laughed, throwing their dirty faces into the air and laughing. The boy turned back to Sora. "Get outta here kid, this isn't a place for wanna-be-heroes."  
  
Sora only smiled a little and said nothing.  
  
The teens eyes narrowed. "You wanna be pounded into a bloody pulp or somethin'?"  
  
Sora only raised an eyebrow at this.  
  
The lead punk growled, obviously becoming very annoyed. "Get outta the way!!"  
  
"Make me!" Sora shot back.  
  
"Yer asking for it kid!" The punk yelled before charging forward, fists bared.  
  
Sora only blinked, and the boy stopped in mid-bound, frozen in place, only his eyes moving, which were incredibly wide.  
  
"W-what!? What'd you do!? LEMME GO DAMNIT!" The boy howled, desperately attempting to move, not that it did him any good.  
  
Sora raised an eyebrow. "And let you kill this guy? Sorry, no can do." He looked over at the rest of the teens, who were all starring in shock. "So..." Sora put his hands behind his head. "Anyone else wanna try, or are we cool now?"  
  
"Yessir!" All of the other boys cried, eyes very wide.  
  
Silence for about two seconds.  
  
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" The punks cried before turning on their heels and charging out of the alleyway, not looking back.  
  
Sora looked over at their leader and waved his hand dismissively and the boy dropped to the ground.  
  
"HEY GUUUUUUUUYS!!! DUN LEAVE ME HERE!!!" Their leader whined, high-tailing it out of the alley as well.  
  
Sora watched him go before turning to the man crumpled to the ground behind him. "Are you okay?" Sora questioned, a smile adorning his face once more.  
  
The man stared with wide eyes, he opened his mouth, but no sound came out.  
  
Sora put his hands behind his head. "Hey, its okay. Trust me, those jerks aren't coming back."  
  
The man blinked. "W-who are you?" He asked, his voice filled with fear.  
  
"Um..thats not important." Sora said quickly. "What is important is your family is looking for you!"  
  
The mans eyes widened. "Sakura!? Airen!? Where are they?!?" He demanded, jumping to his feet.  
  
"Hey, hey, Buddy, relax." Sora cried, waving his hands. "They're fine, they're waiting in town square." Sora held out a hand. "I can take you there if you want."  
  
The man raised an eyebrow. "How are you going to get us there?"  
  
Sora grinned. "Just trust me." He said, hand still outstretched.  
  
The man closed his azure eyes and nodded. "Okay...you'd better take me to my family right away though, you hear?" He asked, taking the boys hand.  
  
The keybearer only nodded, still grinning. "Of course." He said. "Just hold on tight okay?"  
  
Sora stretched his wings, pure white seeming to glitter against the darkness of the alleyway in the growing twilight. "C'mon then."  
  
With a single flap, the two rose into the air and above the buildings. Sora flapped higher and began heading West.  
  
"So, how do you know my family then?" The man asked.  
  
"Ah, your daughter came to me and asked me to find you and your wife." Sora answered.  
  
"I see."  
  
They flew in silence for awhile.  
  
"So, where are you from?"  
  
"Uh..an island really far away." Sora answered.  
  
"What's it called?"  
  
"Uh....Oh, uh, look, we're here!" Sora said quickly.  
  
Sora halfway folded his wings and they slanted downward, Sora finally completely folding his wings as they landed on the cobblestone ground.  
  
"DADDY!" Airen cried, running into her fathers arms.  
  
The said man pulled his daughter into a hug, her mother adding to the group hug.  
  
Sora smiled, watching the scene before turning and spreading his wings.  
  
"Wait! Sora!" Airen's voice called.  
  
Sora turned around to see the girl standing there, holding her parents hands. The girl looked up at him, tears again forming in her eyes.  
  
Sora walked over to her. "What's wrong?" He asked.  
  
"It's...it's not real.." She said sadly.  
  
"What's not real?"  
  
The girl giggled sadly. "Silly keyblade master....don't lie to me...you can see it can you?"  
  
"..W-what?"  
  
Airens shoulder's shook as more tears began to flow, some falling to the ground. As a tear fell to the stone ground, it began to ripple, as if it was liquid.  
  
Sora gasped and took a step back, as more ripples began to form upon the ground. Slowly, the town began to fade away, the buildings, the fountain, the lights.....the people...everything, fading away, leaving mere darkness behind, until nothing was left but Sora and Airen, standing on a single patch of stone.  
  
The girl whimpered. "It's...it's not real.. none of it was.....even my parents...mere figments now..." She stood up slowly, another tear falling from her cheek. "I should be used to it by now...after all......you cannot live a thousand years within the abyss with only memories....you cannot stay in dreams forever......they all fade eventually." She said sadly.  
  
"..A thousand years?" Sora cried, eyes wide.  
  
"Yes..."Airen said, another tear falling down her cheek.  
  
"But, you look like you're only seven or eight!" Sora gasped.  
  
The girl sighed. "This prison does not allow me to age, it does not allow me to sleep, to finally rest."  
  
"W-who are you?"  
  
Airen smiled. "Don't you know?" Silvery wings burst from her back. "I am the angel of compassion..."  
  
Sora's eyes would have widened, save for the fact they couldn't get any wider.  
  
The girl giggled. "Stop looking so shocked, Sora." She said with a giggle.  
  
"..B-but.....you....your parents....what?" Sora's eyes were wide.  
  
Airen giggled once more, more sad this time. "You will find out in time..now...answer me, Keyblade Master, What is compassion?"  
  
Sora blinked. "What is it?"  
  
The girl nodded, another giggle escaping her lips.  
  
"Well....it's caring for others, doing good for them even though you may get nothing back, sacrificing things for a person.. and just caring."  
  
The girl nodded, walking up to the Essence, and placing her hand over his heart. She smiled up at him.  
  
"You have passed.....I now bestow on you a gift of compassion.." She closed her eyes and murmered a few words. There was a flash of blue light, and when it vanished, the sea was once again in view, and Airen had vanished. The sun was still in it's same position.  
  
Sora blinked. "What?" He said as he looked down at the ocean where the island had been.  
  
Airens voice laughed throughout the sky, a gentle sound. "Keyblade Master, your quest for my friend Kimmu still remains unfinished. You will find my gift to be useful in time..I pray. Now I bid you farewell...until we meet again, Sora."  
  
Sora smiled. "Goodbye.....Airen.." He said with a smile, beating his wings and starting torwards the quickly setting sun once more.  
  
*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************  
  
Me: eh heh, I KNOW, I KNOW you were expecting a bit more YGO this chapter, but I had to get this out. Next chapter will have the big Yami fight, more with Sora's adventures, and the start of the next test.  
  
Sora: Oh joy...  
  
Me: hee hee ^^ Anyways, read and review! Lets get to two hundred reviews!  
  
Me: *comes back* Oh yeah, one more thing. For december I'm gonna make a christmas fic, so this one prolly won't be updated, m'kay? M'kay. 


	10. Black Snow

~*Broken Rainbow*~  
  
By: Digitaldreamer  
  
Chapter Nine: Black snow  
  
*****************************************************  
  
Me: *yawns* Ah yes, vacations rock, I so do not want to go back to writing some dumb fanfic...I mean, after two months of just relaxing and doing   
  
homework...ahhh..yes...  
  
Readers: *twitch*  
  
Me: See, I've enjoyed my vacation alot...so therefore I've deciding I'm taking Febuary off as well^^  
  
Readers: WHAT!?  
  
Me: *is heading back to the PS2* See you all in another month^^ Maybe I'll take March off while I'm at it.  
  
Readers: NUUUU! *Grab various weapons*  
  
Me: Eh?  
  
Readers: WE WANT TO SEE SORA TORTURE! WE WANT ANGST, WE WANT TORMENT, WE WANT SAD STUFFS! *charge*  
  
Me: ACK! *Runs*  
  
Readers: *catch Crystal and tye her up and proceed to knock her senseless*  
  
Me: @_@  
  
Readers: TYPE! NOW!!  
  
Me: *whimpers* Okay, okay!  
  
Readers: But respond to our reveiws first!  
  
Me: *whimpers again* Fine, fine.  
  
~Lara~  
  
First off, I'd actually like thank you for bugging me to update. I don't mind^^ And yes, I should kill people, it's my fic. Anyways, sank you, and   
  
here's some Nerds^^  
  
~Bu~  
  
Ah..okay..here ya go o_o *hands you a bottle of Mountain Dew*  
  
~Dragon Evar~  
  
Whoa, you hate angsty fics and yet you like this? Wow! Aw don't worry...that...MIGHT not happen...heh heh heh....can't make any promises   
  
though.......here, a chocolate bar for you^^  
  
~Wingaurd~  
  
Thanks, Wingaurd's a cool name, here's some chocolate, enjoy the chapter  
  
~Kako2~  
  
Thanks^^ Enjoy the chapter  
  
~KawaiiKairiKH~  
  
I made you cry? Sweet! My hard work had the effect I wanted then!  
  
Sora: Yay a compass!  
  
Riku: I get walkie talkies! Woot! Lookit me, I'm a commando!  
  
Kairi: PLUSHIES! WHEEE! *Glomps*  
  
Me:..Why don't I get any presents? T_T I'm the author?  
  
~Ari Powwel~  
  
Wow..that dog ate your review twice...geeeeez. *kicks dog* Stupid dog! Anyways, thanks for the 100 review piccy^^ I feel so loved^^ Thank you thank you thank you! Here's a lollipop^^  
  
~Jhaylin~  
  
Thanks, AWESOME sounding name^^ Here's a box of Nerds, enjoy the chapter^^  
  
~WinGaurd~  
  
Mwa ha ha ha ha! Kill the Junk mail! Here's an airhead, enjoy the chapter!  
  
~ElegantArrow 64~  
  
Yeah, I read em, your fic is totally great^^ And..uh...just so you know..My AIM died....hope I get it back soon..*kicks AIM* Here's a cookie, enjoy the chappie!  
  
~Tsukishiku~  
  
Heh heh, that's the same with me and Yugi-kun...too kawaii not to have my daily dose of em. Yeah, I felt like huggin Airen too, and I'm the one writing this o_o. And ahh....Yami WILL forgive you..hang on one sec..  
  
Me: YAMI GET OVER HERE!  
  
Yami: _ What?  
  
Me: *whacks Yami with mallet* FORGIVE TSU NOW!  
  
Yami: GAH! @_@ I forgive you Tsu.  
  
Me: That's right^^ *hands Tsu a cookie* Enjoy the chapter^^  
  
~Orodruin~  
  
Ack, I'm so sorry this one took so long to update! I hope you like the chapter^^ *hands you a cookie*  
  
~PrincessSwifty~  
  
Oh no...not a Riku fangirl T_T The last one I spoke too besides you is STILL after my head..........*Hands you a popsicle* DON'T KILL ME~  
  
~Celctic Gaurdian~  
  
Heh...sorry about that^^;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Here's a cookie, enjoy the chapter.  
  
~crystal-chan~  
  
THE ADVENTURES OF THE HOT BISHONEN? Uh.....no....It sounds great and all...but too......happy........I'm an angst writer over here _ Anyways, here's a bar of chocolate, enjoy the chappy.  
  
~FlikFreak~  
  
Aw sank you......here's a cookie.  
  
~star's dreams~  
  
Oh, well thank you^^ *hands you a piece of pizza* Oh, and this Pizza is special. If a certain muse named "Lime" comes within 100 miles of this pizza he will be struck with the mallet of a certain author of a certain fic you happen to be reading...  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Me: .....Uh...I forgot what chapter I'm supposed to be writing  
  
Readers: *whack Crystal over the head with mallets* CHAPTER NINE!  
  
Me: @_@ Oh...right....  
  
Readers: DO THE DISCLAIMER!  
  
Me: _ You guys are mean. Fine, I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Yu Gi Oh.  
  
Readers: NOW TYPE!  
  
Me: T_T Yes reader peoples...  
  
********************************************************************************************************  
  
(Recommended music for this scene, Final Fantasy X: The final battle or Dragon Boy from Spirited Away, you know, just anything that seems kind of urgent and fast paced, but mysterious at the same time...yes I DO I have problems)  
  
It was getting dark. The light from the sun was fading, the colors of crimson, gold, and amythest fading over the horizon, the colors seeming to sink into the water almost, the sea reflecting the remaining rays of light creating an ocean of color. And the color was slowly fading, seeming to sink away to leave dark blue as the sun faded away, dipping down to sleep beneath the horizon, so close now, it seemed.  
  
SHHHHHHHHHHHHHWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!  
  
A flash of rainbow burst across the sea of colors, led by the keyblade master, whom had his wings tucked against his body, the tips spread out to keep him inches above the water, streaks of color following him like a beam of pure light. The water burst behind him, like   
  
wings of liquid.  
  
"Gotta get there on time." Sora panted, sapphire eyes fixated upon the vanishing sun, the wind pushing his chestnut spikes back.  
  
It was so close now, the sun, or so it seemed. But the ocean seemed to stretch so far, no matter how far he flew, the distance just didn't seem to   
  
shrink.  
  
His eyes wandered to the various islands he was passing. It was odd, he's seen many islands, but if he tried to fly torwards them, they never got any closer, like mere illusions. Not that it mattered, he didn't have time anyway.  
  
The sun was fading, dipping lower and lower, the light slowly vanishing from the sky.  
  
He looked at the island he had been flying past as the light from the fading sun vanished from it. And as the light died, it seemed to take the island with it! The mass of land just vanished with the rays of light.  
  
"Wha!?" Sora's eyes widened. He flared his wings cast a glance behind him...  
  
And there was nothing there! Nothing but empty blackness, no water, no islands, nothing. It was as if as the light left, this world too, began to vanish, disappearing within the inky abyss left behind.  
  
"Okay..thats definitely not normal. I'd better hurry!" Sora said to himself, beating his wings at a faster pace in hope of going faster.  
  
Unfortunately, beating his wings didn't really help much, as the darkness behind him drew closer and closer.  
  
"Crap, this isn't working!" Sora grumbled. "Okay, what did Donald say about flight and what not? Uhhh.........don't fly over large bodies of water, already did that, flapping your wings alot doesn't really get you anywhere, no duh, and..uh...oh yeah! The higher you go, the faster you can go. Oh yeah!" Sora looked back behind him at the ever growing abyss. "Stop talking, start flying!" He growled to himself, beating his wings to go upward, straining against gravity to go higher, and higher, and higher.  
  
Another look behind the keybearer revealed the darkness to be drawing ever closer, now hardly ten yards away and drawing closer with each second. "Okay, no more time!" With that Sora halfway folded his wings, falling into a downward slant towards the horizen, the darkness creeping behind him.  
  
Closer, closer, he could see the spot where the sliver of light met the waters edge.  
  
"C'mon, c'mon!" Sora grumbled, flapping his wings back slightly to push himself forward more.  
  
Suddenly an icy cold came over his feet and instictively he pulled his knees forward. He turned his head to see the darkness nearly upon him, coming at him like a wave of black.  
  
"Gah!" Sora cried in surprise as he felt the icy cold coming from the darkness, like the cold that blasts at you when   
  
you open a freezer door. A small flicker of fear jumped in his chest. He quickly turned his gaze on the slowly vanishing light. "Just keep your eyes on the light." He told himself, even as he felt his feet go numb as the darkness came over them.  
  
"Almost there.." Sora mumbled, blasting energy behind him in a feeble attempt to go faster and keep the inky black away. His legs were going numb now, he cold feel the icy hand of the blackness closing around him.  
  
"Just a bit more." Sora said to himself, clenching his teeth and still flapping his wings, feeling them practically scream from exhaustion and   
  
strain.  
  
His wings were going numb now, the numbness climbing it's way towards its heart. Up ahead he could see the light vanishing, now merely a line of white visable in the black that had closed over a sea that no longer existed.  
  
"I..can't..." He mumbled, feeling his wings go slack and beginning to fall into the abyss. "Kairi...Riku...I'm sorry.." He whispered, his world going dark.  
  
"Sora!" A voice cried, and Sora looked up, back at what was now a pinpoint of light. His friends stood there, smiling at him, their hands reached out towards him. Goofy, Donald, Mickey, Leon, Yuffie, Riku, and Kairi. All standing there, their hands outstretched, smiling in encouragement.  
  
"C'mon, you can do it!"  
  
Sora's eyes narrowed. "I'm coming!" He cried, flapping his numbed wings and reaching out a hand in a final attempt to grasp the light as he felt the darkness pulling him down. Closer, just a bit more.  
  
The very tip of his middle finger brushed Kairis.  
  
Suddenly a great light envolped him, bringing warmth to his frozen limbs and enveloping his vision, making everything white.  
  
"Sora." A voice whispered.  
  
"Kairi?" Sora mumbled, opening his eyes, expecting to be staring into Kairi's royal blue eyes. Instead he met the ice cold blue eyes of the Angel of Duty. Everything was white around them, the white slowly turning light grey.  
  
Kimmu frowned. "No." She said, standing to her feet and brushing her emerald hair out of her eyes.  
  
Sora blushed slightly. "Sorry." He said, standing to his feet.  
  
Kimmu gave him a curt nod and held out her hand. "Have you brought the gem?"  
  
"You mean I'm not too late!?" Sora cried in surprise.  
  
Kimmu shook her head. "No, you were right on time. Now, you did bring the gem?"  
  
Sora nodded, fishing into his pocket and pulling out the star shaped crystal and placing it in the woman's hand. Kimmu nodded and closed a fist around the gem, and it vanished in a flash of green.  
  
"Very good." Kimmu said, turning on her heel.  
  
"Huh!? Wait! Didn't I pass the test!?" The keybearer demanded.  
  
Kimmu looked over her shoulder at the brunette. "The first part of the test, yes."  
  
Sora blinked. "ONLY the first part!? That's not fair!"  
  
Kimmu shot Sora a glare. "This is my world, keybearer. My world, my rules."  
  
Sora glared back. "Fine, whatever. You're lucky this is my only way to get back." He grumbled.  
  
Kimmu didn't answer the boy, her face still calm as ever. The blackness was begining to creep around them. "We'd best hurry before the darkness swallows us." She pulled a pistol from her belt and pointed it into the dark.  
  
A shot rang out, and the ivory bullet sunk within the dark. A beam of light shot from that spot and created a portal.  
  
"Are you coming or what keybearer?" Kimmu demanded, already heading for the portal.  
  
Sora sighed. "Coming." He said, jogging over to the circle of white and jumping through just as the darkness swallowed the last pinpoint of light.  
  
******************************************************************************  
  
(Oh, c'mon, where do you think we've shifted to? The dark castle thingy! Duh! Suggested music? Uh, One Step Closer by Linkin Park...wait till Yami actually gets up to play it though _)  
  
Marik blinked at Yugi's motionless body and prodded it with his boot, receiving no response. The blonde let out a growl of frustration. "Stupid kid! Get up!" He snapped.  
  
Again, there was no response, the boy remained unconscious.  
  
"Wake up!" The Yami yelled, extremely irritated now. Yugi still remained silent.  
  
"Get up!" Marik howled, kicking the prone body and sending it slamming into the wall. He expected the boy to fall to the ground and stay there, as that was how it had been for the past ten minutes. This time however, when Yugi fell to the ground and skidded against the stones, the Millenium puzzle around his neck flashed, the glow enveloping the boy's entire body and becoming flames of energy, dancing round the boy.  
  
"What the-" Marik's eyes widened as the boy pushed himself to his feet, the golden aura still dancing around him. When he opened his eyes, they were crimson, not amythest. "Pharoah." The yami snarled, voice dripping with malice.  
  
"Marik." Yami growled back. "So, you did this to my Hikari."  
  
The blonde smirked. "Yes, I did my dear Pharoah."  
  
"You bastard."  
  
"You're welcome."  
  
"Marik!" Yami howled, hands clenching into fists and flames of energy sparking around him.  
  
The smirk still continued to play upon the blonde's lips. "What are you going to do about it, Pharoah?"  
  
Yami did not smile. "We will play a game." He said, the eye of Ra glowing upon his forehead, summoning clouds of shifting shadow around them.  
  
"The shadow realm? Such a thing has effects on mere mortals, but it takes more then that to defeat one who was born in this realm."  
  
This time the former Pharoah did smirk. "I know." He said, pulling his cape from his shoulders and throwing it upon the ground. "The game is simple really. We fight untill one can subdue the other."  
  
"That's all? I expected something far more fancy from you, Pharoah. Are you losing your touch?"  
  
"I'm not finished yet." Yami said, as the shadows began shifted, hiding his opponent from veiw. "We cannot see each other, for one. You must relay on your other senses. " He held out his palm in the dark, gathering energy. " There are also...surprises in this particular area of the realm. Other then that, there are no rules."  
  
"What happens if I win?"  
  
Yami let out a breath of annoyance. "If you win, you may do as you wish with me. If I win, my Hikari, myself, and all of our friends are free to go."  
  
"That doesn't seem very fair to me.................ah screw it. Your body is weak, this will be easy." Marik sneered, conjuring a flame of energy in the dark.  
  
"We shall see." Was all that the other yami responded with, forming energy within his own hands.  
  
"Well then...Let's go!"  
  
Two bursts of energy, one a midnight blue etched with dark red, the other flaming gold mixed with crimson, met in the dark, creating an explosion that hit both Yami and Marik, sending both slamming into opposite walls.  
  
Yami recovered first, pushing himself to his feet, golden eye glowing on his forehead in the blackness. He closed his eyes, focusing on tha aura of energy his opponent gave off. Sensing it, he opened his eyes. "Now you will see what happens to those who mess with my friends." He snarled.  
  
Yami pressed his palms together and slowly brought them apart. Energy began to form between his hands, glowing gold and crimson, the orb of energy slowly growing larger as his hands were brought farther apart. The orb grew and grew, untill it became so large Yami could no longer contain it. He pushed his hands forward as if he were pushing the energy, and the orb burst from his palms and flew through the darkness.  
  
Marik was just getting up when a glow of light began growing in his vision. His eyes widened.  
  
FWWWHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! The explosion slammed into Marik, energy slamming through his body as pain exploded through him and sent him crashing into the wall once more.  
  
He grunted, slowly pushing himself to his feet, wincing as he wiped warm blood from his face, and he could feel much more leaking from other wounds. The dust around him from Yami's previous attack was clearing, revealing....  
  
A tall, pale man clad in dark purple armor, long violet hair hanging over his cold blue eyes, a long blue staff clutched in his right hand and pointed at Marik threateningly.  
  
"The..Dark Magician?" Marik gasped.  
  
"Not just any Dark Magician, my Dark Magician, Kurai. Say hello." Yami whispered from within the shadows.  
  
"Pharoah." Marik growled, trying to pinpoint the spirit's location. However, the Egyptian spirit was keeping his aura hidden, much to Mariks frustration.  
  
"Now then, Kurai." Just from Yami's tone of voice, Marik could tell he was smirking. "Show Marik one of your tricks."  
  
Kurai whirled his staff, dark energy swirling from within it's jewelled head. He pointed it at Marik once more with a flourishing motion.Tendrils of darkness wrapped around the blonde, suspending him into the air and numbing his limbs with the cold, so cold it was painful to be within the grasp of the icy dark.  
  
Marik let out a cry and thrashed, attempting to escape the hold of the Dark Magician's magic. His attempts were meaningless as the darkness merely closed tighter around him. The blonde let out a hiss, closing his eyes and mentally calling out.  
  
/BAKURA, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!?/ He cried. He hung limply for a moment, wondering if the former tomb robber had heard.  
  
//Gee, I don't know. Maybe taking a break, why?// Bakura's snide voice rang through Marik's head.  
  
Marik thrashed again, despite knowing it wasn't getting him anywhere.  
  
/BECAUSE THE STUPID PHAROAH GOT IN CONTROL AND SOMEHOW GOT THE COLLAR OFF!/  
  
//What!? HOW!?// Bakura's enragement rang through the link, almost making Marik flinch. Almost.  
  
A hiss escaped from Marik's lips. /My attack was too strong. NOW GET OVER HERE!/  
  
There was a pause.  
  
//Okay, I'm on my way; seeing as you can't seem to handle him.// Bakura sneered before breaking the link. Marik blew out a small breath of relief.  
  
"Well then Marik.." Yami said, stepping into view now. "It looks like I win."  
  
The blonde smirked. "Not quite, Pharoah..."  
  
(Mwa ha ha ha ha ha, that's right, I'm leaving you there, MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA!)  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
(Okay, so now we're with Sora again. Suggested music would be People of the North pole from Final Fantasy X, you know, the music that plays on Mt. Gagazet. If you don't have that song, seeing as I don't have it either I can't really blame you. That's what this here   
  
webpage is for ^-^  
  
http://blisteredavalon.net/kimahri/ http://65.54.168.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=730e1220b445aeb73e15ee3df9bf6dd5&lat=1076454669&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fblisteredavalon%2enet%2fkimahri%2f Yeah..a webpage about Kimari _ Click on Media, then click on "Goodies" then click on the first little music thingy, "People of the North pole".........yes, I am sucker for pwetty sounding music. )  
  
Cold. It was cold. That was the first thing that the keyblade master was aware of. Imagine sitting inside a bathtub filled with ice cubes and ice cold water. That's basically how cold Sora felt.  
  
The brunette slowly opened his sapphire eyes. White, White everywhere. On the ground, cold to touch. Soft and wet......  
  
"Where..am I?" Sora mumbled, sitting up and shivering, looking up at a grey sky. "What is this stuff?" He wondered aloud.  
  
"Snow." Kimmu's calm voice brought the boy to his senses. He jumped to his feet, shaking the cold white stuff off of him.  
  
"Snow?" Sora repeated, watching some of the white stuff melt in his hands to become water, and looking up to watch more white flakes of the stuff gently falling.  
  
"Yes. Frozen rain."  
  
"Oh....It's pretty..." Sora murmered, watching with eyes filled with wonder.  
  
"You're at the foot of a mountain." Kimmu continued, fluffing her wings.  
  
Sora nodded. "What do I have to do?"  
  
Kimmu held out a hand and pressed a blue prism into the boy's gloved palm. "Take this." She said. She then pointed to the top of the mountain. "Take it up there."  
  
Sora looked up at the large mountain. "That's it?" He said with a grin. He jumped into the air as if to fly...  
  
And came crashing to the ground..  
  
Sora let out a cry of surprise, muffled due to falling face first into the snow. He sat up. "What the heck!?"  
  
The angel of duty gave a snort of amusement. "Are things ever that easy keybearer? There are no using wings for this. You'll have to climb."  
  
Sora sighed, getting back to his feet and shivering. A look of determination was set on his face. "Okay..fine then. I'll be able to do this. No problem."  
  
Kimmu smiled slightly. "That's the keybearer we know." She vanished in a flash of green. "Good luck.." Her words echoed.  
  
Sora turned his attention to the mountain once more, grinning dispite the cold. "Okay then...I'll get through this. For my friends." He closed his eyes and smiled, picturing all of his friends, smiling at him, encouraging him, because he knew they were.  
  
He had to get back to them. They needed him. She needed him.  
  
"....For Kairi.."  
  
**********************  
  
Me: I know, I know, not much action in this chapter, I'm so sorry! But I'm going to Florida in tomarrow and I wanted to get this out before then.  
  
Reviewers: _ *proceed to beat Crystal senseless once more*  
  
Me: ACK! UGH! GO AWAY!  
  
Reviewers: WE WAITED MONTHS FOR THIS CRAP?  
  
Me: Next chapter will be better, I promise!  
  
Reviewers: GRRR!  
  
Me: Hey hey hey! While waiting for the nest chapter, instead of killing me, I have something you guys can do^^  
  
Reviewers: What?  
  
Me: *points to my author profile thingy* See the pretty-ful links?  
  
Reveiwers: Yeah?  
  
Me: Those pretty-ful links lead to three awesome comics. VGcats is a video game spoof, Iancomix is a gag comic about a anime geek in high school, and RPGWorld is my fave, it's an awesome webcomic spoof of an RPG game. They should keep you entertained, GO TO THE SITES AND BE HAPPY!  
  
Reviewers: YAY!  
  
Me: But before you go, please leave a nice review^^  
  
Reviewers: OKAY! *Run to review button before prancing off to the comics* 


	11. Note of doom

~*Note of doom*~  
  
Digitaldreamer  
  
Alright guys, before you kill me for this not being a chapter, I got stuff to say.  
  
First off, I'm really sorry for not updating so often. I've been quite busy lately for a number of reasons (school, family matters, friends, lack of sleep, etc.) As soon as this evil quarter of school is over, I'm going to abide by a schedule, which means chapters will be coming every one or two weeks. (hopefully) I really hope this will make you guys happy^^  
  
Next up, I actually wrote up a plot idea for Broken Rainbow. You see, originally this was probably going to be fifteen chapters, like it's predecessor, and be just a torture story. But then this MEGA good idea hit, and now the story is going to last thirty, maybe forty chapters or longer. I have everything written up, so no idea's shall slip my mind, We have a nice, winding plot, and I hope you'll all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed thinking it up. Right now we're only in the first arc of the story. There's going to be four arcs, you see. Yaaaay. Don't worry, there will be plenty of angst, as well as some nice non-angst stuff.  
  
But in order for this to be good, I need to go back and re-write a few old chapters. So therefore, after posting chapter 10 (which will come sometime on Friday, I just need to spell check) I'll be going back and re writing a few things. Make sure you read them, it'll be worth it.  
  
Anyways, next off I want to thank all you readers for sticking with this awful fic despite it's lack of constant updates, not to mention lack of good...writing ness. I mean, I look at this stuff and wonder how the heck you guys can like it, but you do and review for it, so who am I to complain?  
  
Thank you, thank you, I hope you enjoy chapter 10, and please bear with me as I attempt to get this fic in order.  
  
~*Digitaldreamer*~ 


	12. What is Fear?

~*Broken Rainbow*~  
  
By:Digitaldreamer  
  
Chapter ten:What is fear?  
  
**********************************  
  
Me: Whoa! Guys, check it out! It's the new chapter! And it took me less then three months to update! YAY!!!  
  
Cast: WOOOOOOT!!!  
  
Me:So anyways, time a for a pointless update to you all over how my life is going^^  
  
Cast: YAY!  
  
Me: So earlier this Saturday morning I was watching Yu Gi Oh, and here they are in this arc with the Noah kid (oh so awfully dubbed I might add) and the virtual world and what not. Now, I;m fine with this storyline and what not, but does anyone remember Battle City? Yeah, you know, the quest to defeat Malik and stop him from destroying the world. You know, the one on the Battle Ship? With the God cards? That hasn't ended yet -___-;;; I feel seriously sorry for anyone who just now decides to start liking Yu Gi Oh, they aren't gonna know what the heck is going on.  
  
Yami: -___- no kidding.   
  
Me: I mean, just think, they'll finally go back to the Malik thing and all the newbies are gonna be like "Whut? o_O"  
  
Yugi: Yeah...  
  
Me:..Gee....anyone remember Duelist Kingdom? You know...back with Pegasus? o_o Man, that was a loooooonnngg time ago.............................yeah, anyways, I'm done with my geek rant, review answering time!  
  
~Celctic Guardian 7~  
  
YAY! My limbs did not get torn off! YAAAAAAAAY! *Hands you another cookie* Don't kill me for this chapter being late too^^;;;  
  
~Princess Swifty~  
  
O_o Holy crap, you've turned into a CHEERLEADER! GAAAH! *hides* Here! Mountain Dew! Go read the chapter and leave me be!  
  
~FireSparkler-00~  
  
Yeah, I updated again. Took me like, a month, but I did it. OMG does Sora make it? Read the chapter and find out. Does Yami beat Bakura up!? Read the chapter and find out! Oh, and here's a pixi stick, your name is cool.  
  
~soraoathkeeper~  
  
Yaaaaay, you read RPGWorld! Congrats! You're on my favorite people list now! YAAAY! *Hands you pizza*  
  
~Bu~  
  
I'm sorry, I'm sorry^^ School and stuff got in the way to keep me from updating! Here, take the chocolate! The chapter's real long! Don't kill me!  
  
~Orodruin~  
  
Is this what I think it is? *rubs eyes* It is! I'm almost done with typing chapter 10 of Broken Rainbow, and you're about to read this! YAY! *Hands you a cookie* And no, keep your snow, I don't think Sora will enjoy it for much longer.  
  
~AeRiS dOnO~  
  
Ohhh crap....*Is about to hand you a million bucks but stops* Hey...wait...You CAN'T kill me, cause you don't know where I live! MWA HA HA HA HA! Which means I can just not update for nine months, and it wouldn't matter, cause you can't come and kill me! MWA HA HA HA! *proceeds to make fun of you* *suddenly a large knife falls from the sky and lands inches from Crys's face, with the words "from Aeris Dono" printed on it* GAAH! *Hands you a cookie* *runs to update*  
  
~Jhaylin~  
  
Me too, me too...course, with my love for angst...who knows, mwa ha ha ha. *hands you a pencil* Enjoy the chappie.  
  
~crystal-chan~  
  
I know, I know, not much angst^^;;; I'm sorry! This one should have some! I can't believe you actually adore me. o__o My writing is CRAP man! But hey, you like it, so who am I to complain? *hands you a cookie* Enjoy the chapter.  
  
~ElegantArrow64~  
  
Wow, this update only took one month, I must be losing my touch.....ah well, I hope you get your inspiration for your fic back, here's some pizza, enjoy the chapter!  
  
~Sakura-Starfire~  
  
WOW! YOU JOINED BDE!? *High fives you* AWESOME! I can't WAIT to RP with you! *hands you Sora's crown necklace* This chapter is long, enjoy it!  
  
~star's dreams~  
  
YES! mwa ha ha ha! There ya go, control of the muse 101. *hands you a bar of chocolate just like the pizza*  
  
~~~  
  
Yami: *sighs* This fic is going to go on forever.....  
  
Yugi: *sighs as well* No kidding  
  
Me: *grins* And just think, we're hardly even in the beginning!  
  
Yami & Yugi: *groan*  
  
Me: Anyways, I don't own Yu Gi Oh or Kingdom Hearts or any other anime and video games that should appear in this fic (trust me, there's more to come) Now on with the chapter!  
  
**************************************************************************************  
  
(Okay, suggested listening music ish still People of the North Pole.................what? Stop staring at me like that! So I'm a sucker for pretty music! Stop that!)  
  
Sora let out a grunt as his gloved hand gripped around outcropping above him. Sweat was beading his forehead from exertain as he hauled himself up to another ledge upon the cliff wall. Sora sat on his knees and panted, trying to catch his breath. An icy gale blew past him and the keybearer shivered, rubbing his arms.  
  
"Geez it's cold." He said to himself, summoning a small flame into his hand and attempting to gain some warmth from it. "I really should start wearing long-sleeves."  
  
Sapphire eyes gazed down to see the progress he had made. He was probably about mile or two up, the ground nothing but white below.At first things hadn't been too though, he's climbed a hill and came to a trail that wrapped round the foot of the mountain. He'd followed it, only having to deal with a few jumps here and there. Then the trail had ended and he'd been freeclimbing up the ledges that slowly went up. But now he was facing sheer cliffs with a only a few narrow footholds and ledges carved into the sides.  
  
"I miss my wings." Sora grumbled, pushing himself to his feet and flexing his fingers to get some feeling back into them. He looked up, trying to see how far away the top of the moutain was. The cliff he was climbing was so steep he couldn't see the top. Sora groaned and walked over to the wall to find another handhold.  
  
  
  
Slowly the keyblade master began to make his way up the cliff. 'Don't worry guys. I promise I'll get through this.' Sora thought to himself.  
  
  
  
A crumbling sound came to his attention. "ACK!" Sora quickly jumped up and grasped another handhold just as the former outcropping of rock crumbled away to become pebbles that fell to the snowy ground far below.  
  
The brunette gulped. "That could have been me..." He murmered, countinuing his climb.   
  
"Okay." Sora spoke to himself, easing himself over a gap. "So there's some...things....trying to take over the universe, I'm supposed to stop these things, but I'm dead cause' I had an attitude problem, and now I'm sitting here taking tests like I'm in school or something while my friends are probably mourning over me, and there's STILL the 'save-the-world' deal." At last his hand reached the top of cliff and he sighed in relief. "I swear, my life is so unreal, it could be a japanese cartoon, or an epic video game or something..." He continued as he pulled himself over the edge and his knees touched icy snow.   
  
  
  
The brunette paused a minute or so to breath before pushing himself to his feet, an icy gust of wind carrying flakes of snow flying past him, sending a chill down his spine. Something...just felt wrong about this place. He knew snow was a thing of reality, he had heard tales about it from his friends. He knew the mountain was no illusion, or else he could not have been climbing it. The cold was real, he could feel it like a numbing knife pressing against his flesh. The sky, the wind, the grey clouds that covered the sky, they were all real. He was sure of it. Things should have seemed fine.  
  
But if that was so, then why was Sora feeling something so utterly wrong about this place?  
  
"Help!!!!!!!!!" A voice broke through the brunettes musings, and Sora turned his head towards the sound. "Help!" The voice cried again, nearly lost amid the blowing winds.  
  
"Where are you!?" Sora called out, closing his eyes and attempting to see if he could sense the person. If he could with wings did that mean without them he couldn't?  
  
It was faint, but he could feel the person, several yards away.   
  
"Help!" The voice called again.  
  
"It's okay I'm coming!" Sora yelled, hoping the person could hear him. "Just hold on!"  
  
Sora followed the sense and the voice untill he came to a sharp drop off. "..How could anyone be here?" He wondered, getting to his knees and looking over the edge.  
  
  
  
The cliff was completely vertical, only a few inches of jagged ledges jutting out here and there. And hanging from a branch coming off of one of those ledges about thirty feet down was a man dressed in Hikers clothes, some firey red hair escpaing from under his cap. The rope attached to his harness apprently had snapped. He was hanging onto the small branch with one hand, the other grasping for the ledge just out of his reach. The long arm of wood sagged under the mans weight and looked as if it'd snap at any moment.  
  
The man looked up at Sora with pleading hazel eyes. "Help!!!! Please, won't you help me!?"  
  
The keyblade master gulped, looking down at the man so far below, struggling to keep from falling several stories to his death.   
  
  
  
'I would save him...but I don't have my wings. And..there's hardly any hand holds.' Sora swallowed, sapphire eyes closing. 'It's...so high up...' He backed up a bit, images from his childhood flashing through his mind.  
  
~Flashback..yay~  
  
A small three year old chestnut haired boy panted as he pulled himself farther up a gaint tree, pulling himself up to the highest branches.  
  
"Sora!" The boys mother cried. "You get down from there, you'll fall!"  
  
The boy giggled. "Mommy, I'll be fine! Don't worry!"  
  
The women bit her lip and stomped her foot. "Young man! You get down from there this instant!!"  
  
"But I wanna go up really high like Riku did!"  
  
"And Riku broke his leg! Now get down from there!"  
  
The boy laughed and countinued to climb. "I'll be okay Mommy, I'm a big boy!"  
  
"Sora!!!"  
  
Still the chestnut boy climbed higher, laughing to himself as he looked up at the blue sky.  
  
"Sora!" A silver haired boy about a year older then the boy in the tree hobbled over on crutches, his right leg in a cast and a slight look of worry on his face.  
  
"Riku?" The brunette blinked, then grinned. "I'm gonna get higher then you!!!"  
  
"Sora get down!" The boy growled, stomping his good foot. "I don't want you getting hurt too! Dummy! Get down!"  
  
The brunette stuck out his toungue and laughed, reaching for a higher branch. His expression of laughter turned to fear as he lost his foot hold and slipped, waving his hands wildly to try and grab something. Failing to grab anything Sora let out a cry of terror as he slipped from the tree and fell, landing with a sickening crunch coming from his right arm and leg.  
  
  
  
"Sora!" His mother and best friend cried, running over to him as the brunette burst into tears.  
  
~Back to reality~  
  
Sora closed his eyes, flinching away from the edge.  
  
"Help me!!!" The man below pleaded.  
  
"..I can't..." Sora whispered. "I'm..scared..."  
  
  
  
"Please help me!"  
  
Sora shrunk away, balling up in the cold. "I'm sorry.....I can't............I'm sorry...."  
  
'..What would my friends think of me now?' Sora wondered bitterly. '........I'm sorry guys....I just can't do it..'  
  
~*Flashback...again......five years after first flashback*~  
  
"Sora! C'mon, we can climb higher!" Riku grinned, pulling himself higher into one of the gaint leafy trees on Destiny Island.  
  
Sora swallowed, pulling himself after the silver haired boy. Then he made the mistake of glancing down "..Riku..I can't do it." The younger boy whimpered, gripping the branch he was on. "I'm scared."  
  
"Don't be scared, we'll be fine!" The six year old stated, grabbing the brunettes hand and smiling with that smile only his best friend got to see. "C'mon!!"  
  
Sora shook his head and gripped the tree harder. "No! I can't!"  
  
  
  
"Sora, c'mon!" Riku pleaded.  
  
The brunette again shook his head and the older boy sighed. "Fine, let's go down." He said, helping his younger friend along. "Someday we're going to be able to climb this thing." He said.  
  
Sora whimpered. "I'm sorry."  
  
"Oh, it's okay. You'll be able to someday. We'll get you through this untill you're not afraid anymore." Riku smiled.  
  
Sora nodded. "..Yeah........maybe."  
  
Riku grinned. "We will! Say it with me!"  
  
Sora smiled alittle. "We will..."  
  
"Louder!"  
  
"We will."  
  
  
  
"C'mon!"  
  
"We will!"  
  
"Betcha can't yell it as loud as me!"  
  
"We will!"  
  
  
  
Riku smirked. "That's more like it, come here you!" The silver-haired boy laughed, pulling his best friend into a headlock and giving the smaller boy a noogie.  
  
  
  
Sora let out a cry of protest and ended up laughing along with his friend.  
  
~..Um..back to reality..again~  
  
'Giving up already? C'mon Sora. I thought you were stronger then that.'  
  
Sora's eyes narrowed and he pushed himself to his feet. " You were right Riku." He whispered. "I won't be afraid anymore." He walked back to the edge.  
  
"Help!"  
  
"I'm coming!" Sora reassured, pulling himself over the edge and easing himself to the nearest foothold. He summoned energy into his palm and pressed it against the icy stone wall. As he pulled his land back, a solid line of energy followed. Sora gripped this and gave it a tug. Nodding, he countinued his way down, creating the rope as he went. 'Just don't look down.'  
  
A gale of wind blasted against the teen and suddenly Sora was blown from the wall. "ACK!" Sora cried, flashes of his fall as a boy running through his mind, He shook those away and reached out, grabbing the rope he had been creating and holding on as he was swung back to the wall. He winced as his shoulder hit the cliff wall and grabbed another outcropping.  
  
Sora closed his eyes and breathed, concentrating on that. Finally he opened his eyes and countiued downward, finally at the same level as the hiker. "Don't worry, I got you." Sora said, grabbing the man, whom he now realised wasn't much older then he was.  
  
"T-thank you." The teen smiled weakly. Sora smiled as well before closing his eyes and allowing the rope of energy to retract, taking him and the hiker with it to the top.  
  
  
  
Now on solid ground Sora slid to his knees, breathing hard as the firey haired teen sat down beside him.  
  
"Thank you." The teen said, pulling off his cap.  
  
Sora nodded.  
  
Then the firey haired teen grinned. "Congrats man! You just passed the test of courage!"  
  
Sora blinked. "Wha?"  
  
The teen grinned, his clothes changing to those of a sparkly baggy hoodie with the kanji for fire on the front and baggy jeans with a flame design, a black baseball cap pulled backwards over his firey red hair, and two flaming wings bursting from his back. Sora's eyes widened.  
  
"Y-you're-"  
  
"Yuu, Angel of Courage, nice ta meet ya, bro!" The teen grinned, slapping the brunette a high five. He blinked as Sora stared at him. "What!? You thought we were all Chicks!?"  
  
Sora grinned sheepishly. "Well..yeah."  
  
"Ah..it's tough bein' the only dude, lemme tell ya." The teen said, placing an arm over Sora's shoulder. "Course...lotsa chicks around, so I can't complain." He grinned, and Sora smiled as well. "Well, let me say. You really did well." He placed an orange gem in Sora's hand and grinned. "Good luck dude, keep it up, there's no turnin' back now."  
  
  
  
Sora blinked. "What do you mean?"  
  
The angels expression became serious. "Look." He said, pointing over at the dropoff they had come from. Sora blinked, walking over and looking down.  
  
And there was nothing there, nothing but blackness. "What the!?"  
  
Yuu sighed. "Trouble with bein' an angel. No matter what I think up, the stuff always vanishes, because it's not real. Just all in my head."  
  
"..Huh?"  
  
"Oh, you'll understand soon enough." Yuu said, his grin returning. "Now go on! You don't wanna be in trouble with Kimmu, trust me, happened to me. That chick's EVIL! Go!" He said, shooing the keyblade master off as he himself began to vanish.  
  
"What? Huh!? Wait!" Sora cried, looking back as the Angel of Courage vanished in a shower of red and orange sparkles.  
  
********************************************************************************************************************  
  
Okies guys, I wanted to put this here just to make sure people read it. Okay, only two people entered the contest, and I feel bad judging over only two to be honest ^^;;;;;;; So both of em won. http://www.boomspeed.com/miracle_star/BrokenRainbowPoster.jpg This first one's by Ari Powwel, and the second one http://www.boomspeed.com/miracle_star/BrokenRainbowFanart.jpg well...I can't remember who drew it, so whoever drew it can you tell me so I know who it is?  
  
Yeah, anyways, congrats to them, as they get to be IN this here fic! YAAAAAAAAY!!! Yeah.....need Ari and the person who drew the other pic to e-mail me at digitaldreamer2000@msn.com and tell me what they look like, what clothes they'd like themselves to be wearing, and personality. Please don't make yourself a Mary Sue though, cause I'm not putting in a Mary Sue. Yeah, anyways, CONGRATS AGAIN! Now on with the fic.  
  
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(Okies, suggested music....lesee.....maybe crawling by Linkin Park...or Numb or One Step Closer again...meh, you choose)  
  
  
  
Yami smirked, looking up at his former captor. "Well....you've lost the game. So I'll be taking my friends and leaving." He said calmly. "You can just stay here. I think you need a time out anyway." The former Pharaoh turned, his aura of energy dimming slightly as he began to walk through the rubble.  
  
"Hold it right there, Pharaoh!" A voice sneered through the blackness of the shadows that were beginning to disperse.  
  
Yami looked towards the voice, eyes narrowing. "Tomb Robber." He snarled.  
  
Two eyes flashed an eerie blue in the blackness. "Correct, Pharaoh." The voice sneered once more, an eye of Ra flashing to life in the dark. The shadows slowly slid away to reveal the ancient spirit, an aura of midnight blue sparking around him. His silver hair blew out behind him, giving him the appearance of an insane man.  
  
Bakura turned to eye his now captive partner. "The PHARAOH beat you!? That's PATHETIC!" He smirked. When the only response he received was a snort and Marik looking away, Bakura turned back to the current problem. "So then Pharaoh, we finally managed to lure you out. I figured as much, only a sap like you would care for that weakling you call a partner." He sneered.  
  
Yami eyes flashed dangerously, and again energy began to pulse around him, dancing like flames. "Don't talk about my Hikari like that." He growled.  
  
"Oh but of course, I almost forgot. You're the sniveling fool who actually considers your light a......what was that word again? Oh yeah, friend." Bakura smirked. "You consider that in-experienced weakling an equal." His hands clenched into fists.  
  
"That's because he is!" Yami snarled, crimson eyes flashing with anger.  
  
Bakura's eyes narrowed and he began to step closer towards his ancient enemy. "You disgust me." He growled. "All you whining do-gooders disgust me. How could I have lost my life to a smiling sucker like you!?"  
  
Yami growled. "You know why you lost, Tomb Robber? Because no matter how much you ramble about 'weak do-gooders', your cruelty and hatred is what makes you weak. "  
  
"Of course. Only a weakling like you would say something like that." Bakura brought his hand up, energy gathering into his palm.  
  
Yami held out his palm as well. "Let's finish this." He snarled.  
  
"Yes, let's." The Tomb Robber replied.  
  
With a cry of fury both spirits unleashed their attacks, crimson and gold flaring against sapphire and silver. Both yamis strained against each other, both flames of energy seeming to push against each other. Sometimes the gold and crimson beam would inch forward, only to be pushed back by it's opposing force, like an odd form of tug a war.  
  
Yami growled, the golden eye upon his forehead flaring. Beads of sweat began to form upon his brow as he began to murmur a few words under his breath. His aura intensified and in turn the beam of crimson and gold burst through the opposing discharge of energy and enveloped the Tomb Robber, who let out a howl of pain as he was blasted back.  
  
When the energy cleared Bakura was standing to his feet, wiping a trickle of blood from his lip. He smirked, the aura of magic still dancing around him. "Is that all you have, Pharaoh?"  
  
Yami scowled, breathing heavily, the aura surrounding him beginning to dim. He pulled out a card, holding it above his head. "Himotama!" He called out. The card flashed and there was a rumble. A large ball of flame rained from the sky and slammed into Bakura. Yami smirked weakly.  
  
And that smirk faded as from the flames came only laughter. "Honestly Pharaoh..." The Tomb Robber smirked as he stepped from the flames, hardly hurt. "This is pathetic. Though I suppose this is all I could expect. You're as pathetic as your hikari!"  
  
Yami let out a snarl of rage, his eyes now glowing with golden flame. The energy surrounded him and he closed his fist around the chain of the Millennium Puzzle that hung from his neck. "It is because of my Hikari that I am strong." He growled. "With him at my side, nothing can stand in my way. You of course, would not understand this concept." The energy pulsing around him now drew into his fist. He released the Puzzle and placed his glowing fist over his heart. "I hope you enjoy your private chamber in Hell." Yami snarled. " Tenshi no Akki no Reiki!"   
  
The energy within Yami's palm burst outward in an explosion of light, enveloping the entire room with crimson and gold. The energy destroyed all the rubble on the ground and Marik shut his eyes to avoid being blinded.  
  
When the blast cleared Bakura was hissing in pain, then he smirked. "Not bad, Pharaoh. You actually popped me a good one. But I can see you're spent." He looked at Yami, whom was panting, golden flames merely small flickers of energy fighting to stay as opposed to the powerful blaze surrounding Yami before. Yami growled, attempting to stand up straight before falling to his knees.  
  
  
  
The former Tomb Robber walked over, picking Yami up by his shirt collar. "Now you will pay for all that you did to me." He snarled.  
  
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(Okies, um................lessee, suggested music...Hymn of the Fayth from FFX at the beginning)  
  
Sora grunted in exertion as he pulled himself up to another ledge. He fell to his knees and panted. After a few moments of simply breathing, he noted it wasn't cold anymore. He blinked, looking down at the solid stone ground. He looked ahead of him.  
  
Before him was a path that winded a bit through some cliffs, each stone crystallized and set in a different hue of color. Sora raised an eyebrow and stood to his feet, noting there was no wind. There was no wind, nothing living. Everything was completely silent.   
  
"Well...I'm guessing the only thing I can do is go forward now." Sora said to himself with a shrug. He began to walk up the path.  
  
He looked down at the crystals that marked the path, each clear and changing hue constantly. One instant one would be crimson,then a blazing orange, then emerald, then sapphire, then silver, then midnight blue, then amethyst, and back to crimson again.  
  
Eventually Sora's attention drew from the stones to the cliff walls that surrounded the path. The cliffs were carved with designs varying from spirals and stars and flowers and great dragons. Sora blinked, tracing his finger over the designs as he walked. "..Interesting..."  
  
"Bre~me no hi~ka~ri." A high, gentle voice barely reached Sora's ears, singing in a language unknown. Sora's head quickly turned towards the sound as the voice repeated it's song. The voice came from further up the path. "Se~nti~re qu~esta c~anzo~ne e ri~cor~dare."  
  
"Me~de~li~jI~deeeen..." A small, innocent sounding voice of a young girl came now. The Keyblade Master blinked, continuing up the path.  
  
"Il ee~uwige di sogni eter~niiii..." Several voices sang at once, their voices a wonderful range of both high and low.   
  
  
  
"Dooov~ere.." A strong female voice wafted through the cliffs, trilling the word in a slightly deep sounding voice. Sora blinked, mesmerized, continuing to follow the voice.   
  
"Vo~lare nel comba~ttimento." Three more voices joined the first, each feminine with their own pitch, one of the them being the same child-like voice from before.  
  
"Su~lle ali del dra~go." Two male voices sang, one deep and strong and the other wild and free sounding.  
  
  
  
"Ve~rtro~uwen." The deep male voice sang, the song vibrating through the sky.  
  
  
  
"Po~rtare la mi~a mano e can~tare." Again the girls sang.  
  
"...Where is that coming from?" Sora wondered aloud. "Who's singing?"  
  
"Yu~wo-ku-su." Another males voice sounded.  
  
"Vo~lare su~lle al~i ete~rne." All the voices sang.  
  
Sora's eyes widened as at last the path ended and he came to a large clearing. Trees stood all around the clearing, whitish pink blossoms sprouting from their branches. A light breeze blew through and blew a blossom from it's tree. The whitish pink petals fell into Sora's hand. He blinked, amazed at how soft the plant was. He smiled slightly and held up the blossom, allowing it to blow away,   
  
"Te~mere no~n." The voices continued to sing, their voices loud and clear now and with such soft sweetness and perfection.  
  
  
  
"A~mo~re." A light, sweet young women's voice filled the air.  
  
Sora looked up at the temple that stood in the middle of the clearing. It was a very elaborate building, made of a bluish tinted stone and decorated in swirls of the crystal that had littered the path to it. The entryway was shaded by a large flat almost clear stone held up by swirling columns that looked like bursts of water frozen in place. Various clear gems were placed along the roof, and inside each gem burned a flame. One flame was crimson, the next sapphire, then an aqua green, then orange, then midnight blue, then came a flame of amethyst, and finally one of silver.  
  
"To~me a mi~nha mão e promessa." And still the mysterious singers sang, voices ringing clear as ever.  
  
Sora stepped into the clearing, another breeze blowing his chestnut hair.He looked at the various stone statues surrounding the area. Each was designed like a legendary beast, some taking the form of dragons with outstretched wings and talons. Other's held a resemblance to oriental tigers and lions, others like eagles. There was a Unicorn here and there, horn pointed towards the sky. Each beast had an oriental feel to it, with unique designs and jewelry worn upon each of them. Some beasts had looks of solemnity, while others had fangs locked in an eternal grimace, warding all with evil intentions away.  
  
  
  
"Ri~shu~yu." The seventh voice sang, a women's voice with a cold tone that sang of sadness and grief. "Ciò ne~lla morte che lei sta~rà."  
  
"Dor~mir~e il ba~mbi~no di pre~gare." Again all seven voices sang. "So~gna~re per se~mpr~e ten~shi."  
  
The wind blew towards the temple, as if beckoning Sora inside. The brunette blinked. "O....kay." He said, walking up to the temple and stepping through the doors.  
  
  
  
"Fi~nch~é l'Ete~rni~tà, Porta la Glo~riaaaa."The voices at last finished their solemn choir as Sora entered the temple.  
  
It was pitch black. There was nothing but blackness. The darkness closed around Sora until it was oppressive, felt like it would swallow him whole. There was no sound what so ever. It wasn't a clam silence like the one Sora had witnessed earlier. It was cold and swallowing, like the dark. Sora took a step and there was no sound. He blinked.  
  
(Yeah um...no more hymn of the fayth there....yeah. Now tis' the time ta play that one song, Dragon Boy from Spirited Away...I love that song...)  
  
"Hello!?" He called. His voice echoed through the dark, lost amidst it, sounding quiet and alone. "Is anyone there!?"  
  
  
  
"Sora!" A voice called out. Sora blinked, turning towards the voice. It sounded like....  
  
  
  
"Riku!!!!" Sora cried as his best friend came through the dark. He ran over to the boy, then stopped. "Wait....what are you doing here?"  
  
"There's no time!" Riku cried, grabbing Sora's wrist and pulling him. "We have to get moving! The Darkness is moving fast, if we don't get going we'll both die!"  
  
Sora blinked as he was dragged along. "What the- Riku?" He winced slightly at his friends tight grip.  
  
Riku pulled Sora through the dark. Sora could see nothing all all save for Riku, but somehow Riku seemed to know exactly where he was going as he strode deliberately.  
  
"Riku..." Sora gasped behind his best friend. "Where are we going!?"  
  
"Just trust me." His friend called back.  
  
The darkness swirled around them, rising up and taking form. Sora gasped, watching as they took the shape of Heartless and his various enemies from the past. "Riku!" Sora cried.  
  
"Don't worry."  
  
The demons came closer now, bearing wounds from their battles past, hands outstretched as if to grab him. They growled menacingly, reaching at him with bloodied hands and torn limbs.  
  
"Riku!"  
  
"Don't worry. As long as you trust me, they can't touch you."  
  
Sora flinched away from the shadows as they drew ever closer. He wondering where his best friend was leading him. Something just didn't seem right...  
  
"Soora..." A voice hissed and Sora felt a bloodied hand touch his arm. With a cry Sora flung away the battered arm of Jafar and winced as he felt Riku's grip on his hand tighten slightly.  
  
"Sora! Come on!" Riku cried. "You can't be afraid right now!" Riku turned to look at him, a dangerous look dancing in his aqua eyes. One that was so familiar, from so many years ago. "C'mon, we only have one shot, we have to take it!"  
  
Sora eyes closed shut. Something about Riku wasn't right. It reminded him of.....of Destiny Islands. Of the night when it was destroyed. The way Riku had been, that same look and tone of voice was there now. That same confidence, same frightening calm.   
  
Sora blinked, looking ahead of them, at where they were going. A ball of crimson, sparking with power, slowly vanishing. Sora gasped, pulling himself from Riku's grip.  
  
Riku turned at him and blinked. "Sora!? Come on!"  
  
"Riku! No! It's darkness! It'll swallow you again! Don't go!" Sora cried.  
  
"Of course I know that!" Riku cried back. "I know what it looks like, but you have to trust me! It's not the darkness, it's the only way out!"  
  
Sora shook his head. "That's what you said last time! And you were wrong!"  
  
"I know better now!"  
  
"But-" Sora suddenly let out a cry as Wyvern talons slashed at his back.  
  
"Sora! You have to trust me!" Riku cried. "I know what happened, that's how I know that this is safe! You have to trust me!"  
  
"R-Riku I-" Sora cried out as heartless began to attack him, the darkness closing around him. They slashed at him, claws digging into him, icy daggers tearing into his flesh, drawing crimson blood to drip to the ground. Hands grabbed at him, screaming out for vengeance. Sora screamed as a burst of black energy slammed into his chest, knocking him further into the chaos. Giant fists pummeled into him, swords slashed at his sides. "Gaaaaaaah!" Sora cried, sinking into the blackness, disappearing into the dark.  
  
"Sora!" Riku cried, holding out his hand. "Grab my hand!"  
  
"I...I can't!" Sora whimpered.   
  
"Yes you can!" Riku continued to hold out his gloved hand.  
  
Sora cried out as claws plunged into him yet again. "I..I..." He winced, falling back, weakened.  
  
"Sora!"  
  
Sora grit his teeth, reaching out with a last burst of strength. "I can!" He cried, grabbing his best friends hand. The Heartless, the pool of darkness, his wounds, all vanished instantly. Sora nearly fell to his knees but stopped himself, somehow finding the strength to stay on his feet.  
  
Riku smiled. "Good." He said, turning towards the crimson orb.  
  
"Riku..."  
  
The silver-haired teen turned to look at Sora. "Do you trust me?" He asked.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Do you trust me?" Riku repeated.  
  
Sora nodded. "Of course."  
  
Riku smiled again. "Then you have nothing to worry about."  
  
Riku gripped Sora's hand and they walked towards the orb. The energy crackled around them, raising Riku's hair on end (Sora's hair already is kinda standing on end..) Riku touched the orb with his other hand.  
  
FWOOOOOOOOSSSH! There was a burst of blinding white light, so bright Sora instantly shut his eyes. Heat flared against Sora's face, crackling against his skin but strangely comforting. A mans voice, deep and soulful from the song before, began to sing. The song was like before, calm and serine. The deep voice rang through Sora's mind.  
  
Sora blinked, opening his eyes. He was in a dark room, a carpet of red, lined with gold, covered the floor. The walls were covered with the same shimmering writing Sora had seen earlier, and tapestries of silk also decorated the walls, symbols and designs of gold woven upon them, designed to look like winged tigers. Sora blinked and stood to his feet, unsure how he had gotten here or as to why he was kneeling.   
  
Sora walked along the trail of crimson carpet. He looked up to where it led. He blinked at the large, transparent glass dome like thing set at the end of the carpet. He stepped up to it and looked inside. "What the?"  
  
Beneath the glowing glass a man was embedded into crimson stone. He was face down, long golden hair tied in a ponytail down his back. His right shoulder was dipped and stuck into the stone, and a bit away his right hand seemed to come out of the stone. His left shoulder and arm were completely embedded in. His upper body was bare and his legs were sunk into the stone. It almost looked as if the man had been sinking into the stone and had been trapped in time. But that wasn't all that made it shocking. Here and there on the mans skin were patches of tiger fur, and tiger claws were shown from the mans fingers. A wing of crimson stretched from the mans back.  
  
"Welcome." A deep voice said from behind Sora.  
  
Sora gasped and turned around. The man from the statue floated there, lacking the tiger parts, mostly humanoid now. The man smiled slightly, clad only in khaki pants. "Who're you!?"  
  
The man smiled. "My name is Irai, angel of trust. Welcome to my room, Keyblade Master."  
  
"What the...but..you're the guy in the stone!" Sora gasped.  
  
Irai walked over to Sora. "It's.....a long story. You'll understand in due time. I cannot tell you now, I don't have much time before I must once again sleep. But I can tell you this....nothing is as they appear. " Irai then placed a small, crimson gem into Sora's palm. "And I can say no more. That's Kimmu's job." Irai nodded at Sora. "Your task with her is not yet complete. Go through that door and enter the second one in the hallway with the purple mark on the door. That's where the next test is. Good luck, Keyblade Master." With that, Irai vanished.  
  
Sora blinked as the gem in his hand vanished in sparks of ruby. He smiled and turned towards the other end of the room to continue on.  
  
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Me:Alright! Finally done with chapter ten!  
  
Sora: That was long o_O  
  
Me: I know! Twenty pages! WOOT! *falls over, exhausted*  
  
Riku: _ Oh brother.  
  
Next chapter: More of Kimmu's little test, as well as yet another one. Angst lovers, get ready, next chapters gonna be angst, angst, and more angst! 


	13. Accepting

** Broken Rainbow  
  
By:Digitaldreamer  
  
Chapter eleven: Accepting**  
  
Well then, Friday, April 2 was the beginning of my Spring Break. I planned on spending my break typing this fic. However, I confess, I'm quite the procrastinator. My mind usually refuses to work if it knows it can do something pointless instead like re-read web comics and fics, and play Kingdom Hearts in expert mode. (on the note of Kingdom Hearts Expert mode, it took me thirty-two tries to beat Riku/Ansem It took me a resounding three minutes to beat the dragon, yet it took me all day to beat Riku. See, it's very difficult to button mash when your opponent is really fast and constantly retaliates with attacks that take out one third of your hp) Unless I actully force myself to sit down and type, it just doesn't happen. Since I didn't force myself to just type and ignore all ither things, this chapter wasn't finished untill June. Sad, ne? So I'm gonna have to work out a scheduale somehow. I figure I give myself about two days of a break between typing, and then a day for each scene I have to type. So I can get out maybe about a chapter a week. I'm sticking to the schedual til' I get Microsoft Word , In which case I'll start revising old chapters, once I'm done with that it's back to one chapter a week. Yay!  
  
So, that aside, I'm now typing authors notes in this form instead of script style with the chara's. It's a bit easier to say stuff without typing everything the chara's say, and it looks more professional.  
  
(Riku snorts in the background. "And she's just lazy.")  
  
Shut up Riku. Anyways, Easter's over now, so now, THREE weekends AFTER Spring Break, I started typing...pathetic.  
  
In other news, **HOLY CRAP HAS IT REALLY BEEN A WHOLE YEAR?** And I took like, **THREE MONTHS** to write each chapter yet you guys still continue to support me. Thank you all **SO much**!  
  
Okay, so rants aside, time to answer your reviews.  
  
**soraoathkeeper  
**  
Good grammar...are you SURE you're talking about ME? You can ask like, all of my friends if I had good grammar, and they would say you were clearly insane. And the link doesn't work cause I had to delete the pic, there's not enough space on my Boomspeed account. Yes, Shrek 2 is friggen awesome. "It's a THONG! HE'S WEARING A THONG!" XPPP  
  
What will happen to Yami? Well, read and find out.  
  
hands you an anti-writers block and anti-laziness pen Start typing!  
  
**cinedragon**  
  
Ah, the spelling mistake was okay, I knew what you meant......hands you some chocolate  
  
I'm having trouble reading your fic, it's in script style and that style is kind of....cheap, if you ask me. I'll review, soon as I have time.  
  
**star's dreams  
**  
Ah, we all know if Yami were at full strength he would have whooped Bakura's butt. Ah well. hands you pizza  
  
**Ari Powwel**  
  
OO HOLY CRAP LONG REVIEW! Glomps THAAAAAAAAANNNKKKK YOUUUU!  
  
I loooove your reviews they're soo...long. I like long reviews of doom! YAY! Man, you were reaaall hyper. See, lookie, I typed! Now gimme that Yu Gi Oh opening theme movie thingy! WOOT!  
  
Hands you a giant pixi stix YAY FOR LONG REVIEWS! Glomps again  
  
**Atariel Falvrin**  
  
Thanks for the reviews Here's some chocolate!  
  
**Wingaurd**  
  
Yup, boy angels. Strange, but cool. Yaaaay..hands you some chocolate  
  
**neo-arados**  
  
WOO! You reviewed! YAY!   
  
Oh crap....Riku fangirl! runs and hides   
  
You'll understand about the Riku thing after you read this chapter, everything is explained here. Actually, I kinda based the angels in stone after the Fayth from FFX...then again, I'm a Final Fantasy nut..heh heh.   
  
Actually, Malik is in the fic, he just hasn't shown up yet. He's kind of in Ryou's position, only Malik's still fighting...cause Malik's hot, and I like him. So just wait, things will be explained, usually things I leave unexplained in one chapter are explained in the next. Yaaay. Here's a pixi stix for you.  
  
**crystal-chan**  
  
Thank you And here's some pizza!  
  
**Juujin Bunshen**  
  
Actually I brought Sora back at the end of the first fic for the propose of the ending of this one. I suppose you're right, I should have had Sora come back in this one, but I didn't really want to leave everyone on a sad note, so I ended it happily, with him coming back. Of course, I wrote that fic a year ago and I can't seem to remember exactly what it was I was thinking...ah well.   
  
Yeah, I should start describing stuff more, I have a habit of panicking because I wait so long to type these things, so I hurry through them and don't describe much. I'll work on that.  
  
Thank you very much for your crits, they've helped me pretty well actually. I'm sorry this fic has disappointed you, though I hope as it progresses your disappointment will go away, as I have many plans for this fic and I wouldn't want to leave anyone disappointed. You're disappointed now, but right now we're only on the surface of things and I hope as we go deeper in, that you'll find it to be better.  
  
Anyways, thank you for your review, here's a bottle o' Mountain Dew  
  
**FireSparkler  
**  
Thanks Here's some chocolate.  
  
**AeRiSdOnO**  
  
My chapters, perfect? oO You're clearly crazy, my writing is anything but perfect. But eh, thanks fer feeding my ego anyway;;;  
  
And yeah, I used different languages. The song is a mixture of Italian, Portuguese, German, Dutch, just about every language you can find on Babelfish, as well as a few japanese words and a few of my own, made up words. But yeah, you got that line right, congrats! Here's a piece of pizza for you!  
  
**Krazy4**  
  
Well, I have yet to receive a flame yet, so I guess that's a good sign. Here's some french fries for you  
  
**ElegantArrow64  
**  
Eh heh, thanks I think this chapter is just as long, if not longer.   
  
I know how it feels, I have many fandoms in my mind. Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy X, One Piece, Shaman King, and maybe the Lord of the Rings now that I've watched the first movie (Frodo is SOOO KAWAII! Glomps Frodo) But hey, I'm still managing to write this..even if it does take awhile. Heh heh...  
  
Alrighty, lookit, I updated. I hope ya like it, here's some popcorn.  
  
**Disclaimer:** Crys grins Okay, okay, I dun own it. At all. In fact, I didn't ask permission to use the chara's in this fic, so I could prolly get sued, but since I'm not getting any cash off of it they can't really sue me. Thankfully, I doubt any of those big companies like Square-whatever-the-heck-they-are-now and such look at Fanfiction.net anyway, ne?

(Suggested music Fake Wings from .Hack...not sure which .Hack, I got this song from a friend so I dunno.....))  
  
There was a loud bang as the stone doors opened and Sora strode into a large stone room. Again, the voices sang, voices ringing through the room, echoing with bitter sweetness. He gazed around, taking in the ancient feeling of the room. Torches donned the walls, each glowing a different color as always. Crimson, orange, emerald, sapphire, silver, midnight blue, and amethyst. Symbols also adorned the walls, each glowing it's respective color. Swirls of crystal shimmered upon the ceiling. The floor was covered with a oriental looking red carpet, lined with gold. The carpet split into seven separate paths of crimson, and each split path led to a door, adorned with a single symbol and glowing it's color.  
  
Also surrounding the room were six stone beasts. One was a swan, its loping, graceful neck stretched in an arc, wings outspread. It's eyes were made of silver, and gleamed with serene calm. Standing near that was a fox, ears pitched forward as it stood on all fours. Wings spread from its back, thin and sharp like that of a falcons. Two emerald eyes stared at Sora with keen readiness. A little ways from that was a tiger, perched upon it's hind-quarters. Two graceful stone wings stretched from it's back, like that of an eagle.  
  
Crimson eyes glimmered in the flickering flames. Sitting directly next to it was a Lion, it's handsome mane falling into it's face. It sat as the tiger did, jaws set in an eternal grimace, warding all whom wanted to disturb the peace of the temple away. Wings stretched from it's back, feathers wide spread. Flaming orange eyes glowered at Sora. Next to that, curled upon it's tail, was a dolphin. It's grin was gentle, playful and kind. Where it's front fins should have been there were instead two wings, like that of an eagle. Eyes of sapphire playfully gazed around the room. And sitting next to that, perched upon a stone pedestal, was a dove. Though it was stone, it appeared so real it seemed to Sora he could stroke it's wing and it would feel soft. A small, amethyst heart was placed just beneath its neck, shimmering in the light of the flames. Lastly was a serpent, it's long coils snaking around each other. It's neck sloped upward, serpentine head coming down. Bat-like wings stretched from a place along it's spine, jagged and ripped. Midnight blue gem-like eyes stared into Sora's soul, seeming to pierce through him. It was as though those eyes knew all he had done, and all he ever would do.  
  
Sora shuddered, tearing his gaze from the serpentine statue. There was something wrong about this place, he just couldn't figure out what it was. He shivered once more and looked at the doors. "I'm guessing I'm supposed to go through one..." He blinked. "But...which one?"  
  
It was then that the door near the fox statue glowed emerald directly in front of him. Sora blinked as the symbol in front of it glowed. "...I guess I just follow the yellow brick road...or....green, in this case." Sora shrugged, stepping up to the door. He wasn't sure how to open it so he just placed his palm upon the symbol and prayed it would work. There was a flash of green and the door opened. "..That was easy." Sora blinked, stepping into the room.  
  
It was much like how the room where he had met Irai had been. The room was of stone, decorated with oriental tapestries, symbols woven upon them. However, instead of looking like tigers, there were foxes decorating them. Sora followed the red carpet at his feet, coming to another glass like orb set into the ground, giving off an emerald glow. However, embedded into blackish green stone was a women, face down as the other had been. The back of her head and neck seemed to be attempting to pull out of the stone, emerald locks trailing from her head. Two dog like ears popped through her strands of hair. Her pale, naked back seemed to be straining, and a single wing stretched from her left shoulder blade. A fox tail stretched from her behind, arched above the stone as if trying to escape. Sora blinked down at it in awe. "She...looks like...Kimmu."  
  
"Correct, Keyblade Master." A voice said from behind Sora and he turned to face the Angel, whom was floating a few feet away. "It seems...." She continued, with a small half smile upon her lips."You're beginning to piece things together."  
  
Sora nodded. "Yeah..you ARE the girl in the stone, aren't you?"  
  
"Yes, I am." Kimmu nodded.  
  
"Are....all the other Angel's like this?"  
  
Another curt nod.  
  
Sora blinked confusedly. "Then...how can you all be like this?"  
  
"I'll explain in time. For now, your test isn't over."  
  
Sora groaned. "When is this thing going to be done!?" He demanded. "What do I have to do?"  
  
Kimmu smiled. "Come." She said, taking Sora's wrist. "I will show you."  
  
There was a flash of emerald light and Sora was forced to close his eyes. When he opened them, he was in a dark abyss, floating though the inky blackness. Sora blinked yet again. "Huh?"  
  
"There is but one final thing you must do to pass my test." Kimmu's voice rang through the abyss.   
  
Sora looked around him, searching for the source of her voice. Finding none, he replied. "What do I have to do?"  
  
A light shone from above and illuminated a platform. It had an eerie look to it, steel gray in color. Spikes protruded from the edges, skulls decorating it here and there. Two pairs of claws stretched from the right and left side of the platform, and clutched within the claws were two glowing orbs of green. Inside the orb on the right was...  
  
"KAIRI!" Sora cried, running towards the platform. He slammed into a force field and was knocked back. He shook his head to clear it and looked back up. "Kairi...." He whispered, looking into her helpless royal blue eyes.   
  
"Sora! Sora help me!" Kairi pleaded, falling to her knees within the orb.   
  
"Hang on!" Sora cried in a choking voice. "I'll be right there! Just hang on! Don't worry!"  
  
Kairi shivered and put her arms around herself. "There're a bunch little kids in the other orb Sora!" She cried, pointing to the left. At her indication, Sora looked over at the left orb. Sure enough, inside were about twenty children, ranging from infant to toddler to about five years old. Some of the children banged against the sides of the orb, sending small shockwaves through the liquid like surface. Some cried, tears streaming down their cheeks and faces scrunching up. One small girl hugged a teddy bear to her chest with wide, teary, fear-filled eyes.  
  
Sora's eyes widened. "D-don't worry!" He called. "Don't worry kids! I'll get you out....somehow...." He held out his hands, concentrating. A rainbow glow appeared around his hand. "Come on.....break!" He growled in frustration as the orbs only responded with glowing brighter.   
  
"It's no use." Kimmu's voice said calmly. "They will remain within those orbs so long as the master of this realm wishes it."  
  
At the sound of it's name a beast of gigantic proportions rose behind the platform. Crimson eyes glared down at Sora, set deep into a serpentine-like head. Long, curved fangs were curled into a snarl. Razor sharp talons slammed onto the platform, digging trenches into the metallic surface. Two torn draconic wings stretched from its back, never meant to be used for flight. The dragon, for that was obviously what it was, let out a long, drawn out howl from snaggle toothed jaws.   
  
"That's the master!?" Sora cried. "What does it want with Kairi and the kids!?"  
  
"Its meal." Kimmu's voice was grim. "This beast feeds off of pure souls."  
  
Sora's eyes widened, and again he summoned energy into his palms. "That's not gonna happen to them!" He cried. "I won't let it!"  
  
However, just as quickly as the energy had appeared, it dissipated. "No. Attacking it won't help, Keybearer." Kimmu stated.  
  
"Well then, what do I do!?" He demanded, hands clenching into fists and glaring up at the beast.  
  
"Keybearer, there are two offerings, yet this monster only has one mouth." Kimmu explained, still irritatingly calm despite the urgent feel of the situation.  
  
"What's your point?"  
  
The darkness seemed to gesture towards the orbs. "Choose." Kimmu stated. "Who will die?"  
  
Sora's eyes widened. "You can't expect me to choose between them!"  
  
"Choose." Kimmu repeated with the same ice cold indifference.   
  
"B-but-"  
  
"Choose." Kimmu put more force into the word this time. "Or they will all die."  
  
"I....I..." Sora stuttered, eyes wide as he frantically looked from his timid looking girlfriend to the innocent children crying within their orb. Why was Kimmu making him choose? He didn't want to be the one to sentence any of these people to death! He bit his lip. He didn't want to sentence others to death....but when it came to himself! That was it! That was the answer! He was willing to lay down his life for others without a second thought. "I choose myself!"  
  
There was a flash of emerald lighting that struck both orbs. Kairi let out a cry as the shock came, curling into a ball and shuddering in pain. The children, meanwhile, burst into tears, faces crumpling and howls and shrieks coming from their wide open mouths.  
  
"It's not that easy Keyblade Master." Kimmu's voice stated, still calm as ever. "You were not one of the choices. Now choose."  
  
Sora winced visibly as he glanced back at the orbs, the people within them now whimpering in pain. Those poor innocent children...if he didn't do something they'd all die. But.........Kairi! A girl he knew personally and loved with all his heart! If he choose to save Kairi those poor kids would die! But if he choose to save the kids, Kairi would be the one to face the agonizing death...  
  
"Please....." Sora moaned. "Let them go. They are innocents! They have no part in any of this!"  
  
"Choose." Came Kimmu's voice pitiless and cold as ice. That ice felt like a dagger in Sora's Heart.  
  
Sora looked back and forth, the pain of the decision clearly etched upon his features. "I can't...I don't have the right! As the protector of the Keyholes, as the Essence of Heart, I have a sworn duty to protect all life. But.....which is worse? Sacrificing.....her, to save these children, or sacrificing innocent children, barely having lived any of their life, to save her?" Sapphire locked with Royal Blue. And all he could do was look at her. The one he'd given his life to protect. The very reason he was still here. What was worth her loss?  
  
Sora had made his decision.  
  
"I choose-"  
  
"Sora, don't." Kairi cut him off.  
  
Sora blinked. "But-"  
  
"I know what you're going to say. And no, it's not right." Kairi stated, looking him in the eye, a firm expression set upon her features.  
  
"But-"  
  
"No buts Sora. You know that many lives are far more important then one. " Kairi smiled slightly. "Besides, I would rather die knowing these kids were saved then live knowing those innocent children were sacrificed for me. Sora......please?"  
  
Sora bit his lip, the agony of the decision apparent on his features. But he nodded, shutting his sapphire eyes. "I'm sorry." He whispered before voicing his decision, voice cracking. "I.....I choose......Kairi." Tears slid down his cheeks the second he uttered the condemning words.  
  
The second he spoke, the orb containing the children vanished in a shower of sparkles, falling over him in a cascade of radiance and Beauty. But there was nothing beautiful about what happened next.  
  
The dragon snarled and the barrier around Kairi vanished. Sora tried to look away but found himself watching anyway, transfixed as jaws of death came down upon the girl, who watched her doom coming with defiance. She looked over at Sora and smiled. "I love you." She said, looking at him with tearful royal blue eyes. Time seemed to slow.  
  
"I love you too." Sora said back, shimmering tears sliding down his cheeks to fall into the black abyss.  
  
And then the jaws came, clamping over Kairi instantly, impaling her upon the razor sharp fangs. All Sora could do was watch in horror as Kairi's body was lifted up, limp. Her head hung to the side, lifeless. A small smile remained on her peaceful, now bloodstained face. The Dragon threw back it's head, tossing Kairi's body in the air before snapping her into it''s jaws and swallowing.  
  
"Kairi...." Sora whispered, falling to his knees, tears cascading down his cheeks,shimmering with light. "Kairi....I'm sorry....I'm sorry.....Kairi........."  
  
"Well done....Essence." Kimmu's voice whispered and with a flash of emerald light she appeared before him.   
  
Sora shivered and looked up. "Kimmu." He whispered, voice dripping with bitterness.  
  
"I'm sorry." Kimmu said, still in the same tone she always used.  
  
Sora's eyes narrowed and he stood. "No you're not! This is all your fault!" He snarled, hands clenching into fists.  
  
Kimmu raised a hand. "Sora, I am sorry. I truly am. " She said, and as Sora looked closer he saw a single tear shimmering in her eye.  
  
"...Why?" Sora asked.  
  
Kimmu turned away. "It was a test. The last of my test. We had to see if you were truly capable of the decisions that may come later on." She looked over at Sora. "But clearly, you have friends whom are able to teach you." She gave him a half smile. "I'm proud of you, Essence." She said.  
  
Sora looked down into the abyss with half-focused eyes. "Thanks....but...Kairi."  
  
"Wasn't killed." Kimmu said, and Sora quickly looked up. "Wha?"  
  
Kimmu raised an eyebrow. "And here I was beginning to think you were smart." She snorted. " The Islands? The mountain? Airen's family? They all vanished. Everything you pass eventually disappears. Do you know why?"  
  
Sora shook his head.  
  
Kimmu laughed bitterly. "Don't you realize yet? Nothing here is real. Everything you see is a fabrication, a figment of an angels dream. We live within these realms crafted by our own fantasies. But eventually those all fade, figments cannot hold together for very long, you see. Eventually they break apart and we are left to remember that all they were were fragments, we can never truly experience reality, we can never feel the wind upon our face, we can't feel the warmth of another's embrace, we can't feel the change that comes with the seasons. This is all that there truly is, the icy hand of a death-like sleep that we can never awake from. We can cover ourselves with the fake warmth of our dreams, but they will always fade in the end, for they aren't real. Nothing here is real, and none of us will ever experience reality again."  
  
Sora looked up at Kimmu. "You mean.....all of this.....everything...this is all just a part of your guys' dream world?" Kimmu nodded.  
  
"Yes. Riku was never really here, and nether was Kairi."  
  
Sora blinked. "Then they were just a part of your illusions?"  
  
"Well....sort of. They were a part of each Angel's respective tests......Irai decided the form of Riku would be appropriate for his testing of you." Kimmu explained.  
  
"Then...who was Kairi?"  
  
"Me." Said a voice from behind Sora.  
  
Sora turned to face a girl about his age. She had light blonde hair tied into a bun and two lavender chopsticks were placed into the bun, covered with sparkles. Her bangs hung about chin length and hung out of the bun. She wore a light violet halter top that stopped just above her bellybutton, covered with sparkles like the chopsticks. She also wore a black mini-dress over denim jeans that hugged tightly to her leath legs. Two shimmering white wings, decorated with violet glitter, were folded upon her back. He met her amethyst gaze, one that held a deep look of understanding and kindness.   
  
"Who are you?" Sora inquired.  
  
The girl giggled, bringing a hand up to lips to suppress the light laugh slightly. "My name's Ai." She said with a smile. "I'm the Angel of Love." She took Sora's hand. "And you, Sora, without a doubt, have passed my test."  
  
Sora blinked as she released his hand and he looked at the amethyst gem she had placed in his palm. "But I ordered the DEATH of my girlfriend!" He said, looking confused. "How is that love?"  
  
Ai smiled. "Love is many things, Sora. It is caring for those around you, it is being willing to give things up for those you care for. It is willing to help those who don't deserve it. It is able to heal even after the worst of harms. And sometimes Love demands sacrifice of the greatest kind..."  
  
Sora blinked, then he smiled as well. "Thanks.....for showing me that."  
  
"You're welcome." Ai said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Yuu's invited me to something so I have to go."  
  
Kimmu smirked. "Another date?"  
  
Ai blushed. "Yes..."  
  
"Go tongue him kid!"  
  
"Kimmu!" Ai shrieked, blushing furiously.   
  
Sora snorted. "Bye then, Ai."  
  
"Goodbye Keyblade Master...I hope we meet again." Ai said, smiling before vanishing in a burst of sparkles.  
  
Sora just kind of stood in silence for a moment. "So...she was playing as Kairi...and Irai was pretending to be Riku. So none of them were really here....."  
  
Kimmu nodded. "They cannot really enter this realm."  
  
Sora nodded, then blinked. "Then how come I can?"  
  
"That....is for another time." Kimmu said. "It's a long story....and you still have one final test to complete." She said, holding out an emerald gem. Sora took it.  
  
"Now then....Keyblade Master." Kimmu looked into the darkness and a midnight blue door appeared within the dark. "Beyond those doors lies your final test. I must warn you, it will be difficult. The other Angel's allowed me to use their realms to stage my test. The next angel will not allow me to accompany you. You will be completely on your own."  
  
Sora blinked, noting Kimmu's slight tense undertone to her normally calm voice. "Is their something...bad about the next Angel?" Sora inquired.  
  
Kimmu looked away. "She is......different. She's had a tough time....she doesn't like to speak to us much."  
  
"Why?" Sora inquired.  
  
Kimmu sighed. "I wish I could tell you, but there is no more time. I just warn you.....do not let your guard down.....and be careful."  
  
Sora nodded, turning to face the door. "Thank's Kimmu." He said as he looked at the kanji symbol that glowed upon the door.  
  
"Sora.." Kimmu said from behind him and Sora turned to face her, but she had already vanished, so the last words were echoed within the abyss. "Good Luck.." (Suggested listening music? Going Under by Evanescence.....sqeee for angsty rock o' doom....and for those of you who dislike angst, I'd suggest skipping this) Bakura smirked as his fist clenched around Yami's shirt, meeting rageful crimson eyes. "It's unfortunate that your body was so weak. Maybe if you'd been able to protect your light from all of this, you wouldn't be in this position."  
  
Yami scowled, unable to bring up the energy to struggle in Bakura's grasp.  
  
Bakura's eyes narrowed and he lost his amused look. "Do you remember? Five hundred years ago? I was in your spot, and you were in mine." He hissed. "Do you remember how you made me suffer?"  
  
Yami's eyes flashed but he said nothing.  
  
Bakura snarled and shook Yami roughly. "Do you!? You must remember what you did me!"  
  
"I remember." Yami snapped curtly. "And I also remember you deserved every bit of it!"  
  
A sharp crack sounded through the room and Yami grunted as Bakura's fist met his face, slitting the skin along his cheekbone. "It's because of you that my plans failed!" Bakura snarled. "Because of YOU that I went through all that at your hands!" He pulled Yami closer to him until they were nose to nose. "I've waited so long for revenge for all you've done, Pharaoh."  
  
Yami said nothing, merely met Bakura's eyes with defiance.  
  
Bakura snarled, throwing Yami face-first to the rubble strewn ground. Yami winced as the sharp debris on the ground dug into his skin and drew blood, the thick crimson liquid staining his clothes and joining the stains of reddish brown that were Yugi's blood. Tendrils of black shot from the ground, wrapping around Yami's wrists and ankles, pinning him to the ground and leaving his back open and vulnerable.   
  
Yami forced himself to remain calm, remain stoic. If he made no reaction to anything there was a chance Bakura would give up.  
  
Yeah right.  
  
"Now you'll pay." Bakura hissed, stepping behind Yami. He smirked as he uncoiled a whip from his belt with a snap. He was slightly disappointed that Yami did not flinch from the sound as his hikari had done. But that was fine. Revenge was far sweeter on a defiant spirit then a broken one.  
  
With a snarl Bakura cracked the whip, the leather strap lashing across yami's back, tearing though remains of a school uniform and striking old welts and barely healed wounds, drawing blood. Yami did nothing. Bakura's eyes narrowed and he truly began. He didn't hold anything back, and brutally laid into the spirit. With each stroke it felt as if someone had laid a burning rope across his back and Yami couldn't help but hiss every time the whip landed. Time passed and the beating got nastier and more painful. Still Yami made no response other then small gasps and involuntary jerks. The skin visible beneath his shirt was covered with lines of crimson. Soon enough, the ground that he was bound to was slippery and red with his blood.   
  
Bakura snarled, finding he still was getting no response after half an hour or so of this, and at this point Yami probably couldn't feel the whip anymore. He gave Yami one last powerful blow before letting the bloodstained whip fall to his side. Bakura scowled, panting from his exertions before pulling Yami from the ground by his hair, drawing a gasp from the former Pharaoh.  
  
When Bakura saw Yami's sweat covered, bruised face contorted into a mask of defiance, he growled. Mahogany eyes bore into crimson. After searching his hated enemies face and finding no sign of pain upon it, Bakura growled in disgust and threw Yami against the wall. Bakura gestured, and shards of black shot from his hand, piercing Yami's flesh and pinning him to the wall several feet above the ground so he was eye level with Bakura. "Does it hurt, Pharaoh?" Bakura snarled, stalking up to Yami and gripping his chin, digging his nails into Yami's face and drawing blood. The blood seeped from the wounds like a small trickle of water coming from a leak. "Because this is what you did to me! Do you remember? Those lashes, those scars that I will forever carry upon my back!? Do you remember how many of them you inflicted!? DO YOU!?"  
  
Yami said nothing, merely glared into Bakura's eyes.  
  
Bakura scowled and backhanded Yami across the face, sticky blood clinging to his fingers as he withdrew. "NEVER LOOK ME IN THE EYES! REMEMBER SAYING THAT? DO YOU?"  
  
Yami still gave no response.  
  
Bakura's eyes had a slight wild look in them as he brought his fingers to his lips and lapped the blood from his fingers. "See who is in control now? Who has the upper hand now, hm Pharaoh? Who is the one hopelessly trapped, completely at the others mercy? YOU! Who is in control now? ME!!!" Bakura cackled.  
  
A sick, twisted smile came to Bakura's lips as he traced a finger over Yami's cheek, gathering blood onto it. He brought the blood-stained finger to his mouth and lapped up more of the crimson liquid.   
  
"Now who has the upper hand?" Bakura repeated. He smirked. "Who is the sick bastard now?" He asked as he took hold of one of Yami's wrists. Yami closed that hand into a fist. Bakura grasped one of Yami's fingers and pulled it from it's curled position. He held the small bone between his index finger and thumb and **PRESSED**.  
  
Yami winced as he felt the pressure. "You are a cruel, heartless bastard, Tomb Robber."  
  
Bakura smirked. "Am I any worse then you were?" He inquired before kind of rolling Yami's finger between his, the pressure now becoming unbearable.  
  
** SNAP!**  
  
The former Pharaoh's eyes dilated and he let out a cry before he could stop it. That twisted smile came to Bakura's face again as he moved to the next finger.  
  
** SNAP!**  
  
Yami squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a gasp, face contorted in pain.  
  
** SNAP!**  
  
"Bakura!" Yami howled in a strained voice. The former Tomb Robber came to Yami's index finger, squeezing the limb tightly and watching gleeful as the former Pharaoh's face seemed to fight to keep it's tears in check.  
  
"You know...you could always simply retreat back to your little puzzle..." The thief whispered in an almost silky sweet voice. "Let your aibou take this....."  
  
Yami snarled. "No!"  
  
Bakura smirked. "Fine then."  
  
** SNAP!**  
  
Yami threw his head back, letting out another cry. Four of his fingers hung limply, red and bent at odd angles. Bakura smirked, taking Yami's thumb between his fingers.  
  
** SNAP!!  
**  
The former Pharaoh could no longer hold it back, and a full, piercing scream was torn from him. Bakura cackled, withdrawing as Yami's head fell back and he panted weakly.  
  
"Do you remember doing this to me, Pharaoh? Surely you do. Surely you remember how I screamed.."Bakura's eyes darkened, holding out his hand, eyeing the scars that covered it. "I know you do..."  
  
Bakura, noting he was receiving no answer, pulled a card from his belt. "Hmm....I like this one...though I'm sure you won't. Doma, The Angel of Death!"  
  
A human, if one could call it that, appeared in a flash of deep mauve light. The being was anything but angelic, a crimson skull fashioned as a helmet upon it's head, horns protruding from that. More bone like armor covered it's form, a single, green lidded crimson eye that was ALIVE placed at it's chest. Two pairs of crimson bat wings stretched from it's back, midnight blue membrane torn in places. The pinkish, angel wings seemed so out of place as they stretched from the spot where the large, crimson eye pulsed upon it's chest armor. Thick gloves covered ti's hands, crimson in color, and dagger-like talons stretched from it's fingers, which were thick but rather small when compared to the "angel's" thick as tree truck arms.   
  
The Angel gave an inhuman shriek that sent a chill down Yami's spine and with a flap of grotesque wings was floating before Yami. A disturbingly human face twisted into a cold smirk, mirroring that of Bakura's. A large, crimson covered, taloned hand covered Yami's face, palm going over his nose. If one could see, Yami's face was paling ever more so then before.  
  
The monster now put pressure upon it's palm, crushing against the bridge of Yami's nose. SNAP!  
  
Crimson eyes, mirroring the blood that now flowed from Yami's broken nose as the hand pulled away, dilated. "AAAAUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Yami screamed, arms twitching against his restraints as they fought to bring his hands upon to his nose, stars flying in front of his vision and awareness dimming as crimson blood created a pool upon the stone ground below.   
  
** CRACK!** A fist struck his face, snapping his head back and bringing him back somewhat. A few seconds later, Yami wished he had stayed un-aware.  
  
"BATTLE OX!" There was another flash and a large man with a bulls head appeared. It wore crimson and gold armor, and brown fur rippled over giant muscles. The beasts hands curled into fists the size of a turkey and brought back it's right arm.  
  
**TWHOCK!!!** The Battle Ox's fist connected with Yami's collar bone with an audio able **CRUNCH!!!  
**  
Yami let out another cry and fell forward, panting weakly and trying to draw a breath through a broken nose. Bakura laughed, an insane, trilling laugh that echoed off of the cracked stone walls of the room. He motioned to his two beasts and they stepped back as he stepped towards the former Pharaoh. Yami weakly raised his head, wincing as pain increased in his chest every time he took a breath.  
  
"Remember when you did this to me? The exact same monsters? Same wounds, everything." The Tomb Robber's face twisted into a sickening, twisted smile. "Only now our roles are reversed." Yami gave no reply. Bakura's eyes narrowed and he grabbed a fistful of black and crimson hair. "DO YOU REMEMBER!?" He shook Yami roughly, making him gasp as his broken collarbone grated against bone and tendons. The former thief gave an evil smile as he his nemesis's distress and placed his hand gently upon Yami's shoulder.  
  
"Does it hurt, Pharaoh?" He asked sweetly, a gleeful grin crossing his features as Yami's face paled rapidly.  
  
"N-no.." Yami choked out. 'It's okay, it's okay, it can't be any worse then what's already happened. You're doing this for Yugi-'  
  
The former thief smashed his fist ruthlessly into the former Pharaoh's collarbone. **"DOES IT HURT NOW!!!??"**  
  
Yami screamed and tried to bite back the bile rising in his throat. His vision blurred and turned yellow but he wasn't offered the grey havens of unconsciousness.  
  
"Do you remember Pharaoh!? Do you!? You remember watching all of this happen to ME! You were amused by it! You enjoyed it! Didn't you!?" Bakura's voice was oily and lethal as he continued to put pressure upon the broken bone.   
  
Yami was hyperventilating rapidly as he tried to deal with the onslaught of pain. He tried to speak. but all that came out were weak gasps.  
  
Bakura's eyes narrowed and he finally removed his fist. "I hate you.." He snarled. He was silent for a few moments, eyes blazed with fury. Suddenly, his cold smirk returned, only now his eyes held more malice. "I wonder how Yugi would react if he knew all this?"  
  
Yami's head snapped up. Bakura grinned, beginning to pace. "Tell me, how much of your past have you told the boy?" Bakura stopped and grinned slyly. "Have you told him about the time you ordered the slaughter of a thousand men? The time you ordered the execution of a helpless family that had wandered into your palace? Have you told him of the times YOU were the one whom oversaw your prisoners torture? Have you!?"  
  
Yami looked down at the ground and said nothing. "Thought so." Bakura smirked. "What would he think?"  
  
Yami looked up at Bakura, meeting his laughing eyes with calm ones that flitted with pain every now and then. "He would forgive me. No matter what I have done, he would forgive me. Just as yours would forgive you."  
  
Bakura scowled. "As if I want his forgiveness. I'm not sorry for anything."   
  
Yami smirked weakly, the room beginning to spin around him. "Of course...in my opinion, you don't deserve it. But I suppose that is why I am Yugi's dark side....and I suppose I'm supposed to learn from him just as he is from me." He met Bakura's eyes. "Yes, I do remember. I remember you tried to steal from my fathers tomb...I remember you murdered him in the first place......and I also...forgive you..." With that, he slumped over, at last granted the haven of unconsciousness. (Suggested music would be Death on the Snowfield from FF6, try going to Overclocked Remix.com to find it...sooo pretty...)  
  
Sora stepped into an icy, cold atmosphere. It wasn't like the mountain, which held a feeling of majestic power around it. This was a subtle, silk like cold that wrapped around you, draped a blanket of ice over your shoulders. A freezing hand, disguised in a vixens gentle caress that stole away your joy before you even knew what was happening. The Keyblade Master shuddered, a feeling of melancholy and serenity filling his heart the second he stepped through the door.  
  
Whitish, light blue grass covered the ground, looking as if each blade were made of glass, yet as the grass blew back and forth in the chilling breeze the glass-like look seemed to flow with it, giving it the appearance of liquid crystal. Boulders surrounded the area, dark blue in color and also taking the appearance of glass, gleaming in the silver crescent moon that hovered in the sky. There was a pool of water set to the right, a darker blue then even the rocks and reflected all around it. A sakura tree was placed near it, however, instead of beautiful white-ish pink petals, sapphire petals that shimmered and appeared to be tiny little gems placed upon the tree. Next to this a small boulder sat, and sitting on it was a young women. Her raven black hair flowed down her back, and she sat delicately upon the boulder, staring into the water. What was startling to Sora were the two jet black wings folded upon her back, midnight blue sparkles decorating them.  
  
'It's all...so...pretty....' Sora thought, gazing around in wonder. 'But....why does it feel so cold?'  
  
He took a step forward and there was a sound, like the tinkling of thin glass breaking. He looked down at where he had stepped and lifted his foot to reveal small shards of broken crystal where beautiful blades of grass once waved.   
  
"It's alright." A quiet, monotone voice whispered from the rock. The women turned her head to face Sora, pale skin bright in the moonlight. Her eyes were a deep, haunted, empty shade of midnight blue, and her cheeks seemed to be stained with many tears. The girl smiled, though it was a weak, bittersweet, half-hearted one. "They always fade after awhile anyway..."  
  
The girl stood, her dark blue dress flowing around her like silk. Silvery, translucent material decorated the dress, hanging from the skirt as though it were a second one. The same material was draped over her neck as a scarf, nearly hiding her mouth from view. The dress cut off to reveal her shoulders, which were covered by silver netting which connected the dress to black gloves that allowed her fingers through, connecting the top and bottom of the glove together only by a small strap of cloth between her index and middle fingers. She folded her hands before her, speaking in the same tone as before. "Welcome, Keyblade Master...Essence of Heart."  
  
Sora slowly took another step forward, again the tinkling sound was heard. "Who are you?"  
  
"I am the Angel of Sorrow. My name is Hiai." The angel replied.  
  
The Keyblade Master blinked. "Sorrow? Doesn't seem like a very good quality to me."  
  
The Angel laughed, a quiet, sad laugh that seemed to be the opposite of all things a laugh should mean. "That's what they all said..." She whispered. "That's why they forgot."  
  
"Huh?" Sora quirked his head to the side, confused. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"You'll see....soon.." Hiai spoke, voice devoid of all emotion.   
  
Sora sighed. 'Why is it I never seem to get answers out of these people?' "Well........if you're the sixth angel, how come your wings are black? I thought you were all supposed to be good."  
  
The angel gave a chuckle. "Good, yes. But even the purest light can grow dim." Her eyes bore into Sora's, hallow eyes fathoming a sorrow he could never hope to understand. "It's my fault we're here. All mine."  
  
"What!?" Sora gaped. "How!?"  
  
Hiai shook her head, turning towards the pool. "This isn't about me. This is about you."  
  
The Keyblade Master blinked, following the girl to the water, a trail of thin, broken glass behind him.  
  
"Sorrow." Hiai looked back at Sora. "You said it was a bad quality. In some ways, I suppose it is. It tears friends and families apart, it rips the innocence from children's hearts, it destroys lives and creates pain. But in a way, it is good. For sorrow is what truely brings people together. With great pain, comes also great healing, in which case the binding between souls can become stronger. And...without sorrow, one cannot truly know pain. If one does not know pain, how can one help those who are in pain? If one cannot accept ones sorrow, they cannot move on."   
  
Sora at last came to the water. Hiai gestured down at the still liquid. "Tell me. What do you see?"  
  
The Keyblade Master peered into the water, and his reflection gazed back at him. "I see....myself."  
  
Hiai shook her head. "Look harder. What do you -really- see?"  
  
Sora sighed, eyes narrowing as he stared into the pool. "I don't see anyth-"  
  
_ Orange flames, scorching him, making his skin blacken, crack, and blister. Tongues of flame licking at his flesh, making him thrash against the bonds that held him to the glass-like surface of raw dark magic. Hades' face, twisting into a disturbing, snaggle-toothed grin. Tears falling down his cheeks, boiling under intense flames, teeth clenched in an attempt to bite back a scream._  
  
Sora gasped, recoiling from the pool and falling to his knees, grasping his head in his hands. But the images kept coming.  
  
_ A knife, sliding over the bare skin of his arm, drawing a trickle of blood that slid down his tanned skin. Jack-o-lantern-like eyes of his former enemy narrowing and stitched up mouth twitching into a smirk, a pair of scissors pulled from behind a large bulk of a canvas covered body. Sapphire eyes widening in fear, gloved hands clenching into fists, eyes squeezing shut to hold back tears._  
  
** "This is the great wound, un-buried deep within your mind after two years of suffering with it."  
**  
_Liquid heat, running over his bare skin, dribbling from the mouth of a golden staff modeled after a cobra, delving deep into already made wounds, burning away flesh little by little._  
  
**"Since it remains un-accepted, un-buried, it continues to haunt you, driving you deeper and deeper into a hole of despair to hide your pain. You cover it with lies of happiness, with bitter smiles and feigned laughter. "**  
  
_Claw like nails running over his exposed stomach, slimy tentacles wrapped around his arms and legs and cutting off his circulation. Jolts of lightning bursting through his veins, making him thrash and bite his tongue to hold screams of agony in check._   
  
"PLEASE!" Sora pleaded, rolling on the ground, holding his head, tears streaming down his cheeks. "MAKE IT STOP!"  
  
_A hook tracing across his jaw bone, a line of crimson following, a fist smashing against his face and bruising it._

** "You push the wound to the back of your mind, try and forget it exists. And because you ignore it, the hurt just gets worse. Any memory that comes you quickly suppress, refuse to remember and allow to heal."  
**  
_A staff, thrust into the air, pulsing crimson. PAIN! Horrible, indescribable pain. Pain that twisted every nerve ending, every cell burned and screamed for release. A knife, twisting, white hot waves of pain flashing through his veins. A high pitched tone ringing through his ears, sapphire eyes wide and tears forming at the corners, hands balled into fists, body thrashing against ink black bonds. Teeth clenched. No screaming, no screaming._  
  
"PLEASE!!" He screamed. "I WANT TO FORGET!"  
  
_ Screaming, tears streaming down his cheeks, trashing in agony and bonds digging into his wrists, drawing blood. Pain raging through him, crimson light pulsating, lighting the entire stone room, screams reverberating off the walls. No light to protect him. No friends to keep him strong. Nothing to hold onto, nothing to lean on. Just his weak, lonesome, broken self._  
  
** "You cannot forget. This is a part of your life. Sorrow is a part of everyone's lives. Until you accept this pain you cannot heal, until you acknowledge it is there and stand up to it, it will haunt you. Accept it."**  
  
_ Pleading for it to end. Pleading for the pain to stop. Broken sobs echoing through the room, crimson glow still shining bright as ever, waves of pain washing over him and threatening to swallow him_.  
  
"I CAN'T!"  
  
_ Dark energy, swirling into wounds, tainting pink flesh a grayish tint. Blood, spurting from fresh wounds...feeling dizzy...whimpering, shaking, crying...._  
  
** "Yes you can!! This all happened! But you have to accept the pain, you can't let it rule your life! You have to move on, you have responsibilties and they cannot wait! You have to remember what happened, accept the past, and move on! I know it's hard, but you have to!"**  
  
_Dizzy, pain, hurt...fire..........room spinning.....can't scream any more...throat hurts.....tired..so tired......can't....stay...awake...hurts..._  
  
Sora whimpered, tears streaming down his face as he huddled into a ball. "I...I do remember..." He whispered in a strangled voice. Two years ago, I allowed myself to be captured by my old enemies. I was tortured." His eyes squeezed shut as memories of every strike against him flashed through his mind. "...and...I died, saving my friends. But they brought me back.....because I still have things..I need to do. They brought me back...because they wanted me here, to be happy. They wouldn't want me.....to be sad. They would want me to move on. And.....I will." Sora pushed himself to sit on his knees, tears still streaming down his face, shoulders shaking. "I'm going to keep going. I'm going to do whatever task fate has chosen me to do. And....I won't let the past bother me anymore. The past is past...now is now...."  
  
Hiai watched as Sora began to glow, every color of the rainbow pulsating from him with every word, growing brighter and brighter. Wisps of darkness began to float away from him, hisses coming from the dark as it was forced away, repelled from it's two year host. At last, they vanished fully, and the memories locked in Sora's mind lost their hold, their pain washing away, bandaged in white light to be healed.  
  
The Keyblade Master gave a sob and slumped to the ground, littered with broken glass. He shuddered, tears streaming down his cheeks, five different colored crystals falling out of his pocket and onto the crystalline ground.  
  
Hiai smiled slightly and placed her hand upon Sora's shoulder. "It's okay. You're going to be fine."  
  
Sora gave a shuddering sigh and looked up at her, two final tears making their way down his cheeks, shimmering in the silver moonlight. "....Yeah. I will be."  
  
Hiai nodded, gesturing towards where the crystals had fallen. "Look."  
  
Sora sat up, blinking with wet eyes. The crystals had arranged themselves in a circle upon the ground. Hiai reached out and placed a midnight blue gem in it's place.  
  
All six gems lit up. Crimson, fiery orange, sapphire, silver, midnight blue, and amethyst. A beam of light shot from the crimson gem diagonally across the circle to the orange one. A beam shot horizontally from that one to the amethyst one. From this, a beam of light lavender flashed back to the crimson one. Sapphire glowed, a burst of light shooting from this diagonally to midnight blue, midnight blue connecting to silver, and silver to sapphire. These gems and beams that connected them, created a rainbow like star. The star glowed, and above it the kanji symbol for light appeared in all these colors. The symbol glowed, brighter and brighter until it was so bright Sora had to shut his eyes.  
  
_ "Until we meet again...Keyblade Master.....Sora..."_ Hiai's voice whispered through the white.

((Suggested song, One Summers Day from Spirited Away.))  
  
Sora groaned, sapphire eyes slowly cracking open. He blinked slowly, finding Kairi's arm draped onto his chest, her head resting on it. Tears stained his ripped jacket, blood as well. Her chest rose and fell as she slept, lines of dried mascara that had clearly been running on her cheeks.  
  
Around the room, his friends all slept. Yuffie was curled up on a Laz-E-boy chair, magazine in her lap, head leaned against the overstuffed back. Leon sat in a chair, leaning, arms draped over his leather clad legs, against the wood back rest. Donald and Goofy were draped over the table, snoring. Riku lay against a corner, wings draped around himself, silver locks falling in his face.  
  
The sun shown through the window, birds chirping outside, the sound of waves crashing against the beach a beautiful one to hear. The digital clock on the table read "1:00 PM." Sora slowly stirred, finding himself upon the couch in the cabin.  
  
Kairi's eyes slowly fluttered open, feeling the disturbance beneath her as Sora sat up. She blinked, looking up. A look of disbelief crossed her face. "S-Sora!?"  
  
Sora's face stretched into his trademark grin. "Hey Kairi."  
  
** "SORA!"** Kairi cried, throwing her arms around him. Sora gave an 'oomph' and smiled as she buried her face into his shoulder.  
  
This woke everyone else up. Riku stirred first, blinking as he took in the sight of Kairi and Sora hugging. He shrugged, and closed his eyes again. "Wait!!?WHAT!? SORA!" He jumped to his feet, running over to the two.  
  
Sora blinked, looking up at Riku, grin becoming wider. "Hey."  
  
"Y-YOU'RE ALIVE!?"  
  
"..Yeah..." Sora replied, looking down at his hands. "At least, I'm pretty sure I am..."  
  
Yuffie yawned, stretching her arms above her head and looking up. "WHOA!? HOW!" She cried, jumping her feet and bounding over to the trio.  
  
Sora looked over at the young ninja. "It's....a long story. Let's just say at this rate I'm convinced death holds no power over me...."  
  
"So......you're alive." Leon said, striding over.  
  
The Keyblade Master looked up at him, nodding.   
  
Leon nodded as well, showing a rare smile. "That's good."  
  
"SORA! SORA!" Donald and Goofy jumped up and down.  
  
"Eh heh..hey guys...ah...good morning...I think......"Sora scratched the back of his head, reaching his other arm around Kairi's waist and hugging her to him.  
  
Everything was silent for a moment, and then everyone heard sobbing. Sora blinked, looking down to see tears streaming down Kairi's cheeks.  
  
"I...I was so worried. I-I thought I'd lost you again..." She sobbed, hugging Sora close, burying her face into his shirt and openly crying.  
  
"....Kairi, please don't cry anymore." Sora pleaded, lightly pushing her away from him so he could look her in the eyes. He caressed her cheek, wiping her tears away. "I'm okay now. You don't need to cry anymore. I'm here, and...I'm never going to leave you again."  
  
Royal blue, tear-filled eyes stared into sapphire. Kairi smiled slightly. "....You promise?"  
  
Sora smiled as well, pulling her to him and kissing her on the lips. "I promise..." He whispered as he pulled away.  
  
Now, of course, everyone in the room saw this transpire. And smiled.   
  
It was a new day.....a day for promises to be made that would never be broken.   
  
Awwww, now wasn't that cute? Yeah, I'm really proud of those last two scenes here, after typing them I actually WANT to type more of this fic! Yay for being reinspired...sqeee! We're coming towards the end of the first arc of this fic, yay!  
  
Now, it is currently June fourth, which means I spent an entire school quarter typing this chapter. I swear that'll never happen again, I have a schedule now and I plan to stick to it.   
  
So, next chapter: Sora and Kairi talk, and ooohhh, what on earth is 'Riku' planning ?  
  
** Digitaldreamer**


	14. Calm Before The Storm

**Broken Rainbow  
  
By:Digitaldreamer  
  
Chapter Twelve: Calm Before The Storm**  
  
Well, in random news, I both love and despise the auto editing thing on Fanfiction.net. Basically, it's both a gift and a curse. While it allows me to finally center my titles and **boldify** text and what not, it refuses to let me make the line things to separate scenes. I'm going to have to find a way around that...raaasssk.  
  
In other news, I'm finally out of school. Woot! This makes me real happy!! Though the urge to spend all day doodling and watching all three Lord of The Rings movies (Frodo is SOOOO KAWAII!!! ((Crys glomps Frodo))) is getting difficult to ignore. But I WILL write this fic even if it kills me! And it will NOT take me all summer to type this one, single chapter. Raaasssskkkk...  
  
((_Auron whacks Crys with his friggen huge sword. "Saying is one thing, doing is another. Get to it!!"_))  
  
((_Crys rubs her head and glares at Auron_)) Ah, yeah. Behold my latest muse, Auron. My sad adoration for the dude made him my muse. Sadly, he's like my responsibility muse, constantly trying to get me to get to work! Stupid Auron..  
  
((_Auron whacks Crys again "TYPE!"_))  
  
OW!! ((_Crys glares at Auron again_)) Anyways, reviews!  
  
**Masta of Dance Dance Revolutio**  
  
You seriously liked this? Awww, thank you == So are you seriously a master of DDR? Okaaay...here's some chocolate, read on!  
  
** AeRiSdOnO**  
  
Name of the music? Umm...I'm pretty show I give the names of the songs I suggest oO Here's a pixi stix, thanks for the review!  
  
** PrincessSwifty**  
  
Wow, I made someone throw up oo Eh heh...yeah...that was kinda mean of me to do that to Yami....eh heh;;; But...um...don't worry! He's not dead!  
  
((Yami rolls his eyes. "Yet._"_))  
  
Shut up Yami. Anyways, thanks I liked writing the Sora parts! Annd..here's some chocolate!  
  
**cammy-world666  
**  
Eh heh, thanks;;; Here's a piece of pizza!  
  
** ElegantArrow64  
**  
Right...need to get to reading your fic! Thank you for the review, I'll get to reading that chapter soon as I get this chapter up! And nope, we're not even close to this being over! Mwa ha ha ha ha! Here's a pixi stix, enjoy!  
  
**crystal-chan  
**  
How on earth did you get banned from FF.net? Just wondering........  
  
Anyways, you're welcome I hope you like this next chapter! Here's some pizza!  
  
** Bu  
**  
Yeah, you bet I'll be updating faster. And yes, FF.Net is evil and won't let me put the star things in Grrrr....... Anyways, here's some chocolate!  
  
**cinedragon  
**  
Thank you, here's a sugar cube, enjoy the fic!  
  
**FireSparkler-00**  
  
WOOT! Let's all kill Bakura! KILLLL!! RASSSSKKK! Thank's for the review, and here's some pizza  
  
** ChaosSora**  
  
Oh boy....another fic I'm being bugged to R n R for...okay, I'll read it. And yeah, I'm hoping this will be better then SR..least I hope it will be....anyways, here's some chocolate, enjoy!  
  
** Jhaylin  
**  
Thank you very much! Yeah....everyone feel sorry for both da Yami's! Yay! Anyways, here's some sweet tarts  
  
**Me, a.k.a. "Monkey-boy"  
**  
Wow, I made you cry oo Eeeppp.......um..here's some tissues and chocolate, enjoy the chapter!!  
  
****

_ Well, that's it for the reveiws...Oh look! I'm talkin in itlaics! WOOO!_

__   
  
((_Auron whacks Crys. "TYPE!"))_  
  
Ow....um...ow....sorry Auron..getting to it...  
  
**Disclaimer**: Does it look like I own Kingdom Hearts or Yu Gi Oh? Right, just checking.  
  
On with the fic!!  
  
  
  
((Suggested music would be Kairi II from Kingdom Hearts. Now come on, all of you should have that!))  
  
"Sora..." A quiet, soft voice like music to his ears, the beuty of her voice nothing compared to that of her face. Her head leaning on his shoulder, his arm around her, stroking her silky hair.   
  
The couple sat at the end of the dock on the small island, like they had so many years ago, before all the madness had started. Her wings folded upon her back, his encircling around them, sheilding away the world and showing only the beuty before them.  
  
The lingering rays of the setting sun set the entire sky aglow with firey shades of orange and crimson, rays of pink and amythst reflecting in the water, turning the ocean into a sea of radiant color. The gentle waves caressed the sugar white beaches of the island, breaking upon the shore with a soft rhythm.   
  
He sighed, inhaling the salty scent of the sea. "Yeah?"  
  
"Is what Mickey said earlier true? About you leaving, I mean?" Kairi took her gaze off of the sunset and looked up at Sora.  
  
Sora blinked, looking into the setting sun and remembering earlier, when it was high in the sky...  
  
_ "Alright everyone." Leon's calm, deep voice cut through the air as he hoisted his Gunblade over his shoulder. "We need to start gettng ready. Start gathering provisions."  
  
"I'm going to go try working on the Gummi Ship, I'm going to see if this thing will let us travel to this weird demension where everything's orginating from." Mickey said, holding the golden orb up.  
  
Leon nodded. "Like I said, everyone start gathering provisions. We don't know how long we'll be gone, where we're going, or even if we'll come back." He said, his voice deathly serious. His eyes scanned over his self appointed little troop of soldiers. "So gather as much as you can. Is that clear?"  
  
Yuffie grinned and suluted. "Yes general Squall sir!"  
  
Leon rolled his eyes. "Right Luitenat Yuffie. " He nodded curtly at the group before him. "Sora, Riku, Mickey, and I leave at dawn."   
_  
Another sigh. Sora closed his eyes, listening to the waves. "...I'm afraid so, Kairi."  
  
Kairi gaped, a look of fear crossing her face. "But you can't go! Those things that attacked the castle want -you-! If you go, they'll eventually find you!"  
  
Sora remained silent, eyes closed.  
  
"They'll hurt you! You'll get hurt again, they'll kill you!!!"  
  
"......maybe..." Was all Sora responded with.  
  
"Sora! Wherever you, they'll hunt you down! If you go, maybe you'll seal a few Keyholes, but that's a few in billions! They'll catch you eventually, and...and...you'll die!!" Tears sprung to Kairi's eyes. "Please don't go!"  
  
Sora sighed, opening his eyes. He lifted a hand up to the girls face and stroked his fingers over her jawline. "I have to, Kairi. Someone has to stop this from happening. Someone has to stop people from being hurt...and I geuss that's me. If I don't go, who's going to stop whatever it is that's threatening everything? I'm the Keyblade Master, The Essence of Heart. It's my duty. I have to go."  
  
Kairi gave a shuddering sigh, looking down at the shallow waters below. She suddenly looked up. "Take me with you then!!"  
  
The Keyblade Master stared at her, then shook his head. "No. You'll get hurt. I'm not risking anymore people then nesscary....and I'm definantly not going to let you get hurt..."  
  
Kairi shook her head as well, grabbing his gloved hand with her own and pulling it to her chest, over her heart. "Please don't go! I don't want to lose you again! You promised you'd never leave me again! You promised!" Tears began to slid down her cheeks, shimmering as they reflected the sunset.   
  
Sora looked down at her. "..Kairi..." He whispered, putting his arms around her. "Don't cry...please. Don't cry...I'm going to be fine, I'll be coming back..."  
  
"B-but you promised you'd never leave me again, and you are! You're breaking your promise!" Kairi cried in a shaking, tear-filled voice, hugging Sora to her.   
  
"..Kairi..." Sora whispered again. He sighed, attempting to stand. "Come with me."  
  
Kairi blinked, releasing Sora and watching as he stood and offered her his hand. She took it and he pulled her to her feet. "Where are we going?"  
  
"You'll see." He replied, taking her arm and leading her down the dock towards the island. "We're not going very far."  
  
He led her across the beach, where not very long ago small play duels waged with wooden swords were held. He smiled and took her hands, then put them over her eyes. "No peeking, alright?"  
  
Kairi giggled slightly. "Sora, what's going on?"  
  
Sora gave a grin, though his girlfriend couldn't see it as he took her elbow and escorted her to the cabin that was sort of built into the cliff wall. "You'll see." He repeated, opening the door and guiding her up the stairs. He was silent as he pushed open the door and then led her across the bridge to paupu island.  
  
He led her over to paupu tree. "Sit down." He said, and Kairi complied with a giggle.  
  
"Why am I sitting on the trunk of Riku's Paupu tree?" She asked, moving her index finger to peek through her fingers at Sora.  
  
Sora grinned and pushed her pointer finger back into place. "You'll see. Don't you dare peek."  
  
Kairi giggled as she heard the thick flapping sound of Sora's wings catching the air and launching him into the sky, followed by a rustleing of the tree's leaves as the entire tree shook. Then there was a thump.  
  
"Alright, close your eyes and hold out your hands." Sora instructed.  
  
Kairi smiled and did just that. Something large, oddly shaped and smooth was placed in her hands.   
  
"Okay Kairi." Sora said softly, sitting down on the tree trunk next to her. "Open your eyes."  
  
Kairi slowly opened her eyes and she gasped at what she held in her palms. A fruit, in the shape of a star and golden yellow in color sat in her hands. "A...a Paupu fruit..." Kairi gasped. She looked up at Sora, mouth open.  
  
Sora's grin remained on his face. "I know we were going to do this on your birthday, but I think now is the time." He placed a gloved hand over hers and the fruit. "Would you like to share it?"  
  
Kairi's shocked face broke into a shy smile. "Sure."  
  
Sora nodded, taking the fruit from her hands and pulling a pocket knife from his belt. "Sorry I don't have anything more romantic or anything." He apoligized, flicking the knife into veiw and placing it over the top point of the star. The knife sliced easily through the fruit, cutting it in half. Sticky yellow juice covered Sora's hands. He cut one point from one half of the fruit, holding it between his fingers. "Kairi......all we have to do is eat this, and we'll be bound together forever, for eternity." He gazed into her eyes, pulling her close. "Do you want that?"  
  
Kairi nodded. "I do. More then anything in the world."  
  
The Keyblade Master smiled and extended his fingers towards her lips. She opened her mouth and he placed the peice of Paupu in her mouth. She chewed, and her entire face lit up. "How's it taste?" Sora inquired.  
  
Kairi contiuniued to chew, then smiled, swallowing. "Want me to show you?" She asked, tasking a another piece of the fruit and holding it up to him.  
  
Sora grinned, leaning down and opening his mouth. She placed the small piece in his mouth and he chewed as well. Sora's face seemed to light up as well. "Wow....mom was right...it's better then any fruit I've ever tasted before." With a grin he pulled Kairi close to him. "It's like you.....really sweet, with a bit of tang when you'd least expect it."   
  
The girl in his arms continued to smile as she put her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss, the taste of paupu still on his lips.  
  
When they pulled away, both were grinning. "You want some more?" Sora asked, holding out half of the fruit. Kairi took it, the sticky juice already covering her hand. They both ate, sitting side by side, Kairi leaning on Sora's shoulder as they watched the sunrise.  
  
"Well......we're connected forever now." Sora commented a few minutes after they had finished.  
  
Kairi nodded. "Yeah....and....tomarrow you leave.." Kairi's heart sunk. ".....I don't want you to leave."  
  
"But you know I have to."  
  
Another nod. "I know..."  
  
The couple was silent for awhile, the silence only broken by the lapping of the waves. And then it was broken by sobs.  
  
"You just can't go..........You've already left so many times.....I don't want to lose you.." Kairi sobbed, suddenly hugging Sora to her and burying her tear streaked face into his shirt.  
  
"..Kairi..." Sora gaped.  
  
"Please don't go......please don't..."  
  
"Kairi.." Sora put his arms around her and stroked her hair, whispering words of comfert into her ear untill her shoulders stopped shaking and the sobs subsided. He then placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away slightly so he could look her in the eyes. He took a breath. "Kairi....you're right...I may not come back. I might be hurt or worse......but....I have a duty, and I have to do it. But I did promise you. Even if I'm gone, we'll always be together....." He placed his hand on her heart. "Right here."  
  
"That's what you said before..." Kairi whispered, another tear falling down her cheek.  
  
"And it was true. Kairi...I may you leave you physically, there's nothing I can do about that. But....I'll always be here in your heart. And that will never change."  
  
Kairi sniffled. "Promise?"  
  
Sora pulled the girl close to him, wrapping his arms around her and breathing in the scent of her shampoo. "I promise."  
  
  
  
((Suggested music would be "You Can Hear The Cry of The Planet" from Final Fantasy VII))  
  
The room was vast, huge. Though I suppose it could not have been called a room, as it lacked a ceiling. More like a circular bowl, created by six tendrils of stone that streached from the ground and wove together to create a sort of wall, the holes between the tendrils several yards apart each. The holes looked as if one could stick their arm through them, however, every now and then a spark of eerie blue elecriccty crackled between the holes, revealing the forcefield crafted between them. Four pillars streched up over the bowl, ending in sharp points over it.  
  
The ground was stone, and lines were carved into the ground within the 'room', beginning where the tendrils of stone began and all the lines running towards the other side of the room, connecting at a large hole in the center of the room. Placed in this hole was a large crystal, about the size of a person. This crystal was clear, light reflecting off of it's polished surface. From the spots where the pillars began on the outside of the bowl, a thick line was engraved into the ground, thicker than the other lines. These lines connected to the circle where the crystal was placed. Against the 'wall', at the end of each of the four thick lines, a crystal much like the one in the center, only smaller, was placed. Three of these gems were clear as the one in the center was, and the fourth, pointing north, shown from within with a faint pulse of amythst.  
  
'Riku', as he had dubbed himself, strode round this 'room', black cloak trailing behind him, gazing round almost as if he could see through the blindfold. His obsidion boots clicked against the rune engraved stone ground. He walked along one of the lines, coming to the center crystal and placing a hand upon it. A self-satisfiyed smirk played across the blind-folded man's face. "It is finished at last, Solus."  
  
The cloack clad figure leaning against the wall looked up. "Yes master."  
  
The smirk stayed across the mans lips as he looked up at the star-filled sky, holding out his arms. "At last, the place where my final victory will be held has been crafted, with plenty of time before the night." He brought his gloved right hand down in front of his face, and closed it into a fist. "The first of the catalysts is already in our grasps, the second and third's worlds are falling, and the forth is slowly sucumbing. All we need is the Essence and the Ark..."  
  
"Master, that is what I came to tell you about.....the third catalyst fled from it's world, and came to world that holds the Essence and the Ark!" Solus said.  
  
'Riku's eyes widened, though it wasn't visable, and he turned to look at Solus. "Really? Where was it hidden!?"  
  
"One of the connecting worlds...the one the Essence is placed on."  
  
"I see........." 'Riku' said, beginning to pace. "So, if I were to send an attack on that world, the Essence, the Keyblade, and the Ark would be within our grasp....if that were to happen, I won't need to worry about finding the other three catalysts! With the Essence, they will come automatically! And with the connecting world felled, we can begin our assult on the final demension....excellant!"  
  
Solus watched his master pace, his face hidden from veiw by the hood of his cloak and thus not revealing any of what he felt.  
  
'Riku' smirked, walking up to Solus. "Good. Then we gather all of our forces, and attack tonight. " He turned away, looking up at the cresent, crimson moon above them. "And Solus...I want you to lead them. I want you to bring the Essence back with you." He smirked. "I know how long you have waited for this..the chance to meet the other.."  
  
Solus looked up, then bowed. "Thank you sir."  
  
'Riku' nodded, turning back to look at his right hand man once more. "Earlier today, that Catylst that we have.....he said something about still having hope." A twisted smile came to his lips. "After tonight, there will be no hope."  
  
  
  
((Suggested music...um......Off the Edge of Despair from FFVII...yay))  
  
A tall, lean, muscled man leaned against the balcony of a small apartment in the second distract of Traverse Town. He stared up at the sky, sapphire eyes appearing aglow as they gazed up at the waning moon. A crown of golden blond spikes that some would call hair adorned his head. His arms were crossed, and with every movement his muscles beneath lightly tanned skin rippled. Three belts were latched upon his upper right arm, criss-crossing each other. Upon his left arm, just above his elbow a golden band was set. Tawny brown leather gloves adorned his hands, two silvery bands of gauze holding them in place and slightly covering his palms. He wore a sleeveless white t-shirt and over that a sleeve-less jean jacket with a high collar that came to his chin. He wore a silver chain around his neck, and the pendent hanging that was the shape of the roman numeral for seven. He also wore baggy black jeans and two tan leather belts to hold them up. He took a breath of cool night air.  
  
"There are fewer stars tonight..." The women next to him commented, her mahongny braid trailing down her pink tank top. Her white skirt normally would have been flowing in the breeze...however, there was no breeze, only a death like silence that was uncommon in Traverse Town. "Though I suppose it could be from that neon sign for that new cafe..."  
  
The man shook his head. "No Aerith, you're right. There are fewer stars tonight." He said.  
  
She nodded, rubbing her arms and shivering. "And..it's so cold."  
  
The man put his arm around her and she stopped shivering. "...You're right. It's too cold. Too quiet. Something is wrong..."  
  
Aerith looked up at him. "What makes you think that?"  
  
The man remained silent for awhile, closing his eyes.  
  
"Cloud?"  
  
_"Well....here we are, our new home..." Aerith said with a smile, opening the door to their new apartment. She took Cloud's hand and led him in. "Isn't it nice?" She said cheerfully, looking around the small area. "It's kind of dingy, but we can clean it up! I'll buy some flowers to brighten things. She turned back to smile at Cloud. "Right?"  
  
Cloud nodded curtly, walking around the apartment with slow steps. Finally he looked over at her. "You don't have to stay here.....you can go and live where it's safe...with Leon and Yuffie. You don't have to stay."  
  
Aerith's smile fell, and she took Cloud's arm. "But I want to......"  
  
"Aerith..." Cloud breathed. "You know why I moved here. Because he's still out there, he's been spotted here. You know I'm connected to him....he'll follow me if I go anywhere. Until he's gone, anyone near me is in danger..."  
  
She smiled again. "I told you. I want to stay here, with you. You've been alone far too long......you were looking for me, remember? Well, now that we've found each other....we're going to stay together. He's not driving us apart..."  
  
Cloud sighed, looking down at her, face still serious, but a smile coming to his eyes. "...Thank you."  
_  
"Cloud? Cloud?" Aerith repeated, shaking the man lightly.  
  
The man's eyes flashed open, and he turned to look at her. "He hasn't been spotted in four months...I can hardly sense him anymore........it's like he's here, but at the same time he's not.."  
  
Aerith cocked her head to the side slightly. "Maybe...he's finally gone? Maybe he'll leave us alone..."  
  
Cloud shook his head. "He's...planning something. I know it." He sighed, taking in another breath of chilled air. "And...everything has just seemed so restless. The air is so still...the entire world seems to be on the edge of something...like the calm before the storm."  
  
Aerith blinked. "How do you know?"  
  
Cloud gave her an uneasy smile, putting a gloved hand over his heart. "The darkness within me...it is restless. It can sense something coming, a new enemy. " His eyes darkened as he stared up at the sky once more. "It is quiet.....the eye of that enemy is moving...." He again looked at Aerith. "...He is coming....."  
  
Aerith stared up at him. "Cloud..."  
  
Suddenly there was a great **FWOOOOOOOM!** There was a flash of sapphire light, originating from the first distract,coming from the sky and crashing to the ground. There was a great shockwave of black and an eerie blue that flew through the entire first distract. Cloud's eyes widened. The shockwave blew back Cloud's jacket and hair, feeling ice cold when it touched his skin. A loud, blood curdling scream was heard from the first distract, and many began to follow.  
  
Cloud turned to stare back at Aerith with wide eyes. **"It begins....He is here!"  
**  
  
  
Whooo! Quite the cliffhanger, ne? Amazing, I got this done in less then a month! WOOT! GO ME! YEAH! WHEEE!  
  
((Auron bashes Crys over the head. "FINISH TYPING THE AUTHORS NOTES! YOU STILL HAVE TO SPELL CHECK THIS!))  
  
Ow! Anyways...((Crys rubs her head and glares at Auron)) I hope you all liked this chapter! Oh geez, what's gonna happen? I know, but you don't! Nah nah nah nah! Anyways, I'm off to go watch LoTR: RoTK again! Leave a review, and see you next chapter!  
  
**Next chapter:** RUN CLOUD AND AERITH! RUN LIKE THE WIND! Oh crap Sora, you're really in for it now....  
  
**Digitaldreamer **


	15. Dark RainPart One

** Broken Rainbow  
  
By:Digitaldreamer  
  
Chapter thirteen: Dark Rain-part one**  
  
OO OH MY GOD! TWO HUNDRED REVIEWS! I can't believe it! Thank you guys so much! OH MY GOD!  
  
This is great man! You guys are making this fic a total success! I wanna thank you all! THANK YOU!!!!!! ((Crys hugs everyone))  
  
And I'm REALLY sorry about this chapter taking so long. First I had a party of my friends to go to, then a week long camping trip, and my cousin came over....it kind of delayed me a bit...  
  
((Auron rolls his eyes. "And you spent days just reading Lord of the Rings fics." Crys glares at him and points to the readers. "Yes, I'm well aware of that. But do THEY need to know that?" Auron just grins behind his collar.))  
  
Anyways, ((Crys shoots Auron a glare)) I tried my best to get this done as soon as possible. Hey, at least it didn't take me a month!   
  
To whom it may concern, The Lord of The Rings movies are friggen awesome! WHOO! FRODO! ((Glomps Frodo and Aragorn plushies))  
  
((Auron whacks Crys over the head. "TYPE!"))  
  
OWWWW THAT FRIGGEN HURT! ((Crys glares at Auron. Auron only glares back. "You deserved it! Type!")) Fine..fine....  
  
Anyways, Review time!  
  
**Wingaurd**  
  
Um...okay.........gonna pretend I understand what you're talking about...um.....here's some chocolate.....  
  
**PrincessSwifty  
**  
CloudxSephiness, whoo! Here's a giant pixi stick, read on!  
  
**Celtic Guardian 7**  
  
Yay for Cloud and Aerith! Wheeee...  
  
..Eeeep! I am NOT slacking! (Crys points at the chapter) See, I updated! Dun kill me! Here's some pizza!   
  
**cammy-world666**  
  
Oi, sorry for the wait on the chappie Here's some popcorn, enjoy!  
  
**TomygurlAngel123**  
  
Wooow....lotsa reviews.....Um...thank you;; Here, have some Mountain Dew Livewire!  
  
**Masta of Dance Dance Revolution**  
  
Yes yes, no Violence, I know. Dun worry, there will be plenty more later on! Here's a sugar cube, enjoy the chapter!  
  
**Firesparkler-00**  
  
Eeep! ((Crys dives into couch pillow fortress and cowers)) Sorry it took so long! Here's some chocolate! Here's the chapter! Don't kill me!  
  
**soraoathkeeper**  
  
((Crys coughs)) No, Auron is not falling in love with anyone, he's a single man fer life. Anyways....um.....will, Auron here has a friggen big sword and he has the whole spiffy magic sword stuff goin on. That and your Kairi is pretty OOC if she's mean, cause Kairi's not really like that...and who the hell is Jack? Um...okay...  
  
Anyways, Kairi, stop beating up on soraoathkeeper...it's bad to kill authors, every time an author gets attacked a star dies ya know ((Auron rolls his eyes. "You made that up." Crys shrugs. "I know, shut up.")) Here soraoathkeeper, I give you dispell armor from Final Fantasy, which gets rid of all status ailments and spells and stuff, like puppet master I guess....  
  
((Crys coughs as Auron rolls his eyes and goes back to watching football)) Anyways, good luck handling your muses Bye bye!  
  
**Juujin Bunshen**  
  
Yay! My description is getting better! ((Crys bounces around the room in joy. Auron promptly trips her. Crys rolls her eyes and gets back to typing.)) Yay, you'll still come? ((Crys gets all sparkly eyed.)) I feel special! Here's some chocolate, and I hope you like the chapter!  
  
**Mitsuki Hoshiko**  
  
Ummm...the evil Riku isn't the same as the Riku we know. 'Riku' is an entirely different person. The Riku we know and love is on Destiny Island...  
  
Ohh! Flametongue! Yay! Hey Auron, lookit! ((Auron blinks and looks over. "..no, no swords." "But!?" "We already went over this. A sword in your hands results in someone else's hands being cut off!" "But-" Auron grabs Flametongue and hands it back to Tidus, whom cheers and runs back to his video game. Crys grumbles and Auron just acts all stern and stuff. "I reeaaally don't like you, you know that right?" Crys grumbles and Auron snorts and goes back to watching random shows about swords.)) Well..um.....hey, it's the thought that counts! Here's a Sora plushie! ((Crys stalks off to attempt to get the Flametongue back from Tidus.))  
  
**Bu**  
  
Yes, Cloud is cool. And hot. Reaally hot...hee hee. Here's some sugar, enjoy the chapter!  
  
**star's dreams**  
  
Yeah, I absolutely love Cloud and Aerith, so I had to get them in this fic. Hee hee. Here's some Nerds, enjoy the chapter!  
  
**cinedragon**  
  
((Coughs)) Solus and 'Riku'? Hurt Sora? Now then, why I ever would I have THAT happen? ((Shifty eyes)) Um..here's some chocolate!  
  
**Disclaimer:** Yes, I DO in fact own Kingdom Hearts, Yu Gi Oh and anything else that happens to app- ((Auron whacks Crys again)) Alright, alright, I don't own em....

  
  
((Suggested music- One Winged Angel from Final Fantasy VII. If that doesn't tell you what will be in the chapter, you are a bumbling idiot and I will now proceed to point at you and laugh REALLY hard.))  
  
Cloud burst through the wooden doors of the first distract, Buster Sword thrown over his shoulder, mako blue eyes narrowed. Aerith followed quickly behind, boots clicking on the cobblestone ground, staff held in hand. Aerith slid to a stop and gasped, eyes wide as she took in the state of the distract.  
  
Flames were consuming the item shop, the roof already in flames and looking ready collapse, glass windows cracked and broken, neon sign alight. The flames were licking towards the cafe and spreading towards the accessory shop. Windows of apartments and houses were broken, doors kicked down. Gigantic beasts made of inky blackness tore through the distract. Some took the form of serpents with great, jagged torn bat-like wings sprouting from their backs, rope-like coils snapping towards people, their long fangs dripping with black liquid as they sunk into human flesh. Others had the appearance of great cats, their limbs long and graceful, golden eyes leaving fear in the hearts of their prey, long whip like tails waving in the air, ears pressed back. Others still took the form of of troll like creatures, black armor locks around their burly limbs and clubs, axes, and maces held in thick hands. And fighting along side them were a few humans, swords and staffs held in hands, faces pale and with the gray tint of death, eyes glazed over as they picked out their victims.   
  
People ran round the distract in a state of panic, screams of horror rising through the air. A women and two small children ran from a building just as it collapsed, dust and rubble flying into the air. Suddenly one of the cat like creatures pounced upon the mother, raising up it's head to stare into the women's eyes, wide with fear. The beast than clamped its jaws over her neck, the terror-filled cries of "Mommy!" from her children music to it's ears. The two children's cries were cut off as a large serpent coiled around them both, drawing it's body tighter and tighter until the two children stopped thrashing and their cries ceased, light fleeing from their wide eyes.   
  
Bodies littered the ground, the stench of blood, sweat, fear, smoke, and death filling the air.   
  
Aerith and Cloud stood in shock for a moment, eyes wide. Then Cloud's eyes narrowed. "Aerith, find anyone alive and start healing, try and put out any of the fires with a spell if you can!" He commanded, running towards the chaos. Aerith nodded, following behind.  
  
A family was backed against a wall, eyes wide with fear. Their father stood in front, trying his best to seem brave, his wide behind him with two children clutching at her skirts. One of the trolls stood before them, tapping it's club in it's hands, a snaggle toothed grin coming to it's face. It brought back it's club, ready to take them all out. The man put his arms around the women, whom closed her eyes, the children wailing as they put their faces into their mothers dress.  
  
"YAAAAH!" Cloud snarled, charging into the beast, stabbing his sword into the creatures back, breaking through it's armor, stabbing into it's back. The troll gave a howl of agony, eyes staring into the sky as its world went black. Cloud pulled his weapon from the creature, coated in black blood. The creature then fell to the ground with a tremendous BOOM! It's intended victims stared at Cloud, wide eyed. Cloud ran over to them.  
  
"Run to the Gummi Ships!" He commanded, voice ringing through the air. The little group didn't need to be told twice, running for the doors.  
  
Aerith twirled her staff in her hands, pointing it towards a serpent coiling round a little girl. "WATERAGA!" She cried. A burst of water blasted into the creature, tearing it from the girl. Aerith again pointed towards the creature. "FIRAGA!" A burst of flames struck the serpent and it gave a screech as it writhed in the flames. The girl little girl fell to her knees on the ground, shaking and sobbing. Aerith ran over to her and rubbed her back. "Come on, get up.." She cooed. "You have to get to the ships.." The girl looked up at her, slowly stood and nodded, running for the doors.  
  
This process went on, the couple saving what few lives remained and urging them towards the double doors out of the city. Soon no one living remained in the distract save for the bodies of the dead, the beasts having mysteriously fled. Cloud looked around, the crackling of the flames consuming the city the only thing breaking the silence. Bodies littered the ground, the ground slick with blood of both human and beast.   
  
It was Aerith who voiced the question. "Where did all the monsters go?" She wondered aloud.   
  
Suddenly there was a sound, like someone clapping their hands together. Cloud turned, Mako blue eyes widening.  
  
"Well done." The man behind them said in an amused tone, a cold smirk filled with malice upon his face. Silver hair trailed down his back, emerald eyes laughing as if everything happening was amusing to him. He wore a black trench coat, silver shoulder pads worn over it, the coat open in the front to reveal some of his chest and held together by two straps of leather. A belt was placed around the waist of the coat, making the rest of the long coat that reached to the top of his black boots billow around him. Black gloves were worn over his hands, which he was clapping with as if he were watching some kind of play or such. Tight leather pants were worn over his legs, and a single, raven-black wing stretched from his back.  
  
Cloud's eyes narrowed. "You." He snarled, spitting out the word as a curse word.   
  
The man raised a perfectly arched brow. "Yes?"  
  
The blonds hands clenched into fists. "YOU did this!" He cried, gesturing around him.  
  
:The silver-haired man chuckled. "So I did. Traverse Town really should have kept a few more of its warriors instead of letting them all leave to their separate worlds. That was their mistake, and the people paid for it in blood." He said this in a nonchalant tone, holding his inhumanly long sword in front of his face, staring at his reflection in the crimson stained blade.  
  
Cloud was furious. "You killed all those innocent people! For no reason! Your fight is with me, you had no reason to kill them all, you monster!"  
  
Another chuckle came from the mans throat. "Who is to say I didn't?" He stared into Cloud's eyes, a twisted smile coming to his lips. "The Master requires this world to be destroyed for his plans to be carried out. With each soul lost, he gains more power. The fact that my puppet is here is just an extra incentive to me."  
  
A growl rose from the blonds throat. "Sephiroth!!!" He snarled.  
  
The silver-haired man quirked his head to the side slightly. "You're being awfully rude to the one who is your other half."  
  
Cloud scowled. "You forced me to be that." He snapped.   
  
Sephiroth smirked. "You know you're far happier knowing you're a part of me, just as I am of you. Because of me you're far stronger than before, almost my equal. You should be thankful and stop running away from me, puppet."  
  
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Cloud screamed, sparks of crimson energy beginning to spark around him. He brought his Buster sword into attack position. "Until you die, I cannot rest. The darkness within me WON'T go away until YOU do! I don't WANT to be a part of you! I HATE you! You constantly come to torment me and because of that I have to live away from the people I care about so they don't get hurt! Because of you making me your other half, I'm forced to live away from everyone else so whenever you come back to claim 'what is yours' no one else can be hurt! Because of YOU I can never be free! Because of YOU I have THIS!!!"  
  
Cloud's face twisted into a grimace as their was a squishing sound. Suddenly a wing, pure obsidian in color and leathery like a bats, torn in places, burst from his back, coated in crimson blood. Aerith gasped. "Cloud!!"  
  
Cloud barely turned his head to look at her. "Aerith, go find Cid." He said in a tone that left no room for argument. "GO!"  
  
Aerith nodded and turned, running for the second distract, staff in hand. As soon as she disappeared into the doors he turned towards the One Winged Angel again.  
  
Sephiroth laughed. "Attempting to protect your little friends? Cute. Not to mention futile. I've sent so many youkai all over this place there is simply no way any of them will make it out of this alive. " He smirked. "This world is lost. Give up. " He stretched out his gloved hand. "Come back to me...my other half. Forget those others. I am all you need. Stop fighting the darkness within you. You know what you are, there is no point in fighting it anymore. Eventually it will control you, no matter what you do. So come. My Master requires you."  
  
Cloud's eyes narrowed and he looked down at the hand. "No." He said simply, looking back at the silver-haired man. "I am not your puppet. I refuse to be. And I will NOT allow you to take this city."  
  
Sephiroth's eyes narrowed as well. "So again you choose the hard way."  
  
Cloud gave a cry and charged, Buster Sword pointed at Sephiroth. The One Winged Angel charged as well. The masmune and Buster Sword met with a clash. Both men glared at each other over their weapons before shooting into the sky.  
  
The blond swung his sword downward, only to be met with a parry as Sephiroth again blocked, a smirk crossing his features. Cloud scowled, pulling back and striking again and again, each time parried by Sephiroth's blade.  
  
Sephiroth smirked, gesturing. Cloud's eyes widened and he pulled back just as a pillar of fire engulfed Sephiroth and the air around him. The blond snarled, charging at the one winged angel through the flames, sword pointed to impale his nemesis upon the blade. Sephiroth looked through the flames and suddenly vanished, just in time to dodge the brutal blow. Cloud instantly turned around blocking the masmune half a foot from his face. He grit his teeth, pushing against his enemies strength. Both blades remained firm as the two arch enemies pitted his strength against the other.  
  
They both pulled away at the same moment, one glaring the other smirking.   
  
"Your skills haven't faded."  
  
"Neither have yours."  
  
The staring contest was interrupted as there was a sound, like a burst of energy unleashed, coming from the second distract. Then all was silent for a moment. Sephiroth's smirk became a full, twisted smile. "Good. They found it."  
  
Cloud's face paled. "..The Keyhole..."  
  
A wave of black burst from the second distract, slowly covering all of traverse town, enveloping the city in it's cold embrace, neon lights that remained going out in an instant. Cloud's eyes widened as darkness flooded his vision for a moment, then was gone. He gasped as his sight returned. All the buildings had been leveled, piles of rubble and remains of neon signs in their place. The peaceful, forever night city that was Traverse Town simply had ceased to be, the gigantic walls that surrounded the city reduced to rubbles as well, street lights twisted into unrecognizable shapes, broken bricks, dirt, dust, splinters of wood, and stones littered the ground.   
  
"...no..."  
  
Sephiroth smirked as he watched his nemesis stare round in utter horror. "Yes. Traverse Town is no more...." There was a great CRACK and a creaking sound as cracks began to appear upon the ground beneath them. "This world is no more."  
  
Cloud turned to stare at Sephiroth, eyes wide. "..No..."  
  
The smirk became wider. "You failed, my puppet. This world you fought so hard to protect is lost, it's people are killed....because you couldn't protect them."  
  
"..no..." Cloud repeated, again taking in the sight of the ruins of the city.  
  
Sephiroth grinned. "But it is true. This world would have been better off if you had not come. Maybe if you had not been here, it wouldn't have been so easy to pinpoint. You couldn't save any of them. You were of no use to them. You might as well have helped slay them all. "  
  
"No...NO!" Cloud screamed, gloved hands fisting into his hair, dropping his Buster Sword to the debris strewn ground.  
  
The one winged angel's grin widened. 'I have him.' "I told you that the light had no use of you. That you would just cause them pain. But you didn't listen, and look what happened." The ground shuddered, cracks becoming wider, the entire earth beginning to shake slightly. Sephiroth held out a black gloved hand. "Come with me."  
  
Cloud stared at the hand, eyes brimming with tears. His eyes then narrowed. "No. All of this is YOUR fault!" He snarled, hand coming down to grip the Buster Sword. "I know you're lying. You just want me to come with you. Well..I won't be your puppet anymore. You may have destroyed this world, but you will not have me!"  
  
Sephiroth's smirk faded and he stared at Cloud. "Who said you have a choice?" He asked, stepping forward to grab Cloud's shirt. Cloud pulled away.  
  
"SEPHIROTH!" He snarled, hefting up his sword and swinging it down to strike his nemesis. Sephiroth blocked, eyes narrowing as well. The ground cracked beneath them, beginning to split, the split cracks glowing orange.  
  
"I wanted to give you an easy way Cloud!" Sephiroth cried over the rumbling of the earth. "I wanted to give you a less painful path. But whether you agree or not, my Master requires you, and you WILL be coming with me!" He pulled back and then swung the Masmune. Cloud jumped over the blade, bringing up his blade to impale Sephiroth as he landed. However, Sephiroth teleported away and Cloud landed, pivoting to block another strike as it came from behind.  
  
"I am not going to whatever hell you may wish to drag me to, I don't CARE if your master gives a damn!" Cloud snapped, sapphire glaring into emerald.   
  
Beneath them the ground split in two, a great wave of heat rising from the crack, the entire surface of the world beginning to come apart.  
  
Cloud pulled back, jumping into the air, and Sephiroth followed, swinging his blade to strike Cloud in the head. Cloud blocked, the two warriors swords coming together with a clash of metal once more. Sparks of crimson and sapphire danced through the air as the two swordsmen fought, exchanging blows and parrying, both having yet to actually land a solid blow. Below them the ground continued to split, hellish flames rising from the ground.  
  
The two warriors hovered in mid-air as their swords came together once more, locking eyes as well as weapons.  
  
"You WILL come with me, willingly or by force!" Sephiroth snapped.  
  
"You've destroyed my home twice now," Cloud snarled back, pouring his strength into his weapon. Crimson energy began to dance around him. "And you. Will. PAY!!" With that he shot forward. Sephiroth, caught by surprise, grunted as Cloud's energy powered buster sword slammed into him, knocking him to the ground.   
  
He grunted, wiping some blood from his lip and glaring up at Cloud. Cloud glared back.  
  
"CLOUD!!" A cry cut through the rumbling air and Cloud turned his head, Sephiroth as well.  
  
A sleek black Gummi Ship hovered next to Cloud, door thrown open. Aerith clutched at the door, chestnut braids blown back in the wind. Behind her Cloud could make out Cid struggling to keep the craft steady.  
  
"Cloud! Hurry! Get in!" Aerith cried again.  
  
Cloud stared at her with wide eyes and then looked back down at his nemesis, whom was pushing himself to his feet, eyes blazing in anger.  
  
"Dumbass!!" Cid growled through clenched teeth. "Get the hell in here before we get out f#$asses blown away with the entire f$#ing world!"  
  
Cloud made no move to get in, sapphire locking with emerald.  
  
"Cloud!" Aerith pleaded, and the blond looked over at her. 'Why is it her eyes look so much like HIS!?' "Forget about him! Please come!"  
  
"But....." Cloud shot another glare Sephiroth's way.  
  
"Cloud, he's not worth losing your life over! Please!" Aerith pleaded.  
  
Cloud looked from Aerith to Sephiroth. Finally he sheathed his Buster sword. "...when we meet again, you will not be spared." He snarled, glaring down at Sephiroth, whom glared back. With that, he dove into the Gummi Ship.  
  
"Alright! Let's get the hell out of here!" Cid howled, pressing several buttons. "YEE HAAAWW!"  
  
The black Gummi Ship turned towards the sky, a glow of sapphire surrounding it, and with a roar of rockets and a WOOOSSH, it was gone, launched into the sky.   
  
Sephiroth scowled, rage flitting across his features as he stared at the space where the ship had disappeared. "You can run...but you know I'll find you..and when I do, you'll pay.." He smirked, gesturing. A portal of swirling black appeared before him and he vanished into it, just before the entire world blew to pieces in a burst of fiery orange and rock.

  
  
((Suggested music is "Those Chosen by the Planet" from Final Fantasy VII. Gotta love the dark foreshadowing tone of doom!!))  
  
Solus gazed down at the small group of islands dotted over the dark waters of the sea. Tiny specks of civilization amidst an endless plain of blue. Save for these few islands, there was no land upon this tiny, isolated world. 'How ironic.......that such a small place would connect the planes....that the most glorious of things rests in such a plain little world....that he would be born here....' He thought to himself, standing upon the deck of a sleek black ship, adorned with spikes, cannons, and lasers. A weapon of war, one of many that were clouding the sky, becoming a swarm of black that hid the stars and moon from view.   
  
The cool salty night breeze wafted up to the man, the leather material of his cloak billowing around him. He watched as the lights in the houses of wood went off one by one, an occasional street light here and there but none were out tonight. All the people, sleeping peacefully in their beds, ignorant to the wave of death slowly forming above them, thick and menacing.  
  
'Such a tiny, simple, innocent world...' Solus mused. 'A tiny corner of blissful ignorance, tucked away in a corner of the universe, the tiny thread that unknowingly holds the worlds together. The hide away of all I have sought.' A smirk crossed his face. "It is here," He said aloud, "where the game truly begins."   
  
He brought up his hands and placed them before him. A midnight blue glow lit his palms, and he pulled them away to reveal a sphere of light. He gazed into the sphere, and an image of a swarming mass of creatures appeared. Humans covered in grotesque armor, deformed beasts covered with blades, great serpentine dragons sitting upon their haunches, cat like beasts feuding with each other.  
  
"My armies of darkness." Solus called out, voice ringing through the air. The beasts upon the sphere quieted, quarrels forgotten and ears tilting forward to listen. "Tonight is the night! It begins! For too long have we waited in the shadows, biding our time! We have lived in the dark, forever banished from the world, kept far from the power we so desire! For ten thousand long years we have slaved for this night, gathering our strength, waiting for the time when the Essence would be revealed, when the catalysts would be reborn! For too long have we awaited the awakening of Ban'yuu's ark, for the spell that placed it's great power to sleep to release, for the chance to regain the worlds that are so rightfully ours! We wait no longer! The day has ended! The night has come! And the War of The Essence has begun!"  
  
A great cheer rose from man and beast, a combined voice of shrieks, roars, and yells, a sound of malice that would strike terror in any who heard it.  
  
"You do not know pain!" Solus continued. " You do not know fear! Kill all whom oppose you! Do not show mercy! Mercy is weakness, and weakness is death!! Tonight, the light sleeps, foolishly trusting. And for that, tonight, it falls!"  
  
Another cheer. Solus' face twisted into a cold smirk and he waved his hand, the orb vanishing, his small speech over. "And tonight..." He added quietly, eyes flashing. "We shall finally meet....face to face....." Metallic colored, rainbow wings ruffled beneath his cloak. "...Essence...you will be mine.."

  
((Suggested music...um....Eternal by Evanescence...yeah..))  
  
** "He....lp..."  
**  
_Falling......still falling....always falling....shrouded in icy gauze of black. Staring into the abyss, trying to see something that he could never see.  
  
_ ** "Help..."**  
  
_ Seven orbs orbited around Sora, small bodies of gentle light, pulsing and providing his only means of sight. Bloody crimson drifted by, a blazing orange, a cool, calming emerald, then a joyful soothing orb of sapphire, then shimmering silver, then deep cool midnight blue, followed lastly by an orb of amethyst. These orbs swirled around him, whispering in voices, singing in an unknown language, a song forgotten by time.   
  
_ ** "Help...........me..."**  
  
_ And still the one voice rang, coming from the abyss that beckoned, drawing ever closer. The abyss that reached up, welcoming him with icy gales of pain, misery, and death. And despite Sora's efforts to to flee, he could not, as if he was drawn to this icy cold by some force.   
  
_ **"Help me......Help me......"**_ The voice pleaded, sobs coming between it's pathetic cries.   
  
He looked down into the abyss, into the face of the darkness that threatened to consume him. He should have been scared, he should have been worried. But none of these thoughts plagued him, instead he was filled with a sense of curiosity. What lay beyond the depth's of the abyss? What lay beyond?  
_  
** "Help me..........help me.........help me........"**  
  
_ Unconsciously, he reached out his gloved hand towards the dark, towards the icy cold. "I'm coming." He tired to say, but his voice was lost within the dark.  
  
And then the cold came, so cold it burned, stinging like a million knives. He cried out in pain and thrashed wildly in the dark, eyes squeezed shut in pain and arms and legs flailing wildly. A cold deep chuckle echoed through the dark.  
  
_** "Help me....help me!"**  
  
_ And suddenly the agony was gone and Sora fell to his knees, eyes closed, breathing ragged. He opened his eyes, beholding an empty street. The giant buildings of stone were old and crumbling, the sidewalks cracked with tufts of dried, dead grass peaking between slabs of breaking concrete. The street was littered with cans and garbage. Everything was empty, devoid of any life. A cold wind passed between the buildings and ruffled his clothes, sending a shudder through his body.   
  
_** "Help me........help me.....help me....."**  
  
_ Compelled by something he couldn't explain, he began to walk down the sidewalk, slowly, as if in some sort of trance.   
  
_** "Help me........help me.........help me......"**  
  
_ He began to walk faster, shoes clicking upon the sidewalk and creating the only sound in this place of utter silence.   
  
_ _** "Help me.....help me.......help me.........help me....."**_  
  
_ There was a clap of thunder, and a gentle rain began to fall, the patter of the ever constant rain filling the silence. The water pouring around him as he continued to walk, going faster and faster.  
  
_ ** "Help me.....help me......help me...."**  
  
_ There was a light, blazing from the window of one of the crumbled buildings. Blinking, he stopped at the window and looked inside.  
  
It was a large library, the floor a deep green and covered with the multicolored sunlight that filtered through colored glass windows. A winding staircase stood next to a small table, and seated at this table was an old women, her face kind, gray hair done into a bun. Sitting in front of her was a young girl whom looked to be about six. Short red hair framed her smiling face and shimmering periwinkle eyes. She wore a dress of simple white that made her appearance angelic.  
  
He blinked, pressing his black gloved hands against the glass. She looked so familiar....  
  
"Tell me again, grandma?" The girl was saying, a large exuberant smile covering her face.  
  
The elderly women smiled. "Long ago, at the very beginning of time, six angels existed. These angels were guardians of the worlds, keepers of light, created to protect the worlds from the knowledge of evil, and to forever bathe them in light. To help them with this task, they created a being known as the Essence of Heart. The Essence was the embodiment of the light in all peoples hearts, a being created for the purpose of helping people. All was good. People were happy. No one sinned, for what reason did they have to do what they had no knowledge of? The six angels saw this and they were proud. The worlds were separated into five kingdoms. The Kingdom of joy, the Kingdom of Courage, the Kingdom of Knowledge, the Kingdom of Tranquility, and the Kingdom of Sorrow. These five realms contained different worlds, though each had a basic thing about it's people or it's structure. The five realms were usually separate, two realms connected by a center world, a sort of hub world that connected two of the realms. The five kingdoms were usually separate, but a man by the name of Ban'yuu helped the six angels create an ark. This ark could travel over the barriers separating the realms. Thus the Five Kingdoms thrived, and the angels were pleased."  
  
"But one Kingdom, the Kingdom of Sorrow, was not as loved. It's people were a quiet race, a people whom preferred to keep to themselves, and generally brought a quiet calm with them wherever they went. The other Kingdoms, more excitable, didn't like this, and thus usually avoided the realm of sorrow. It's keeper, the Angel of Sorrow, hated this. She did not like to see her people shunned, because they were different. But all she could do was watch as her people were isolated more and more. The ark never transcended into her realm, and she was soon nearly forgotten. The Angel began to despair over the fragments of her world. The darkness saw this, and since the angel was hurt, her heart unguarded, it tainted her heart, turning her spiteful towards her kin. The Angel opened the barriers, and released darkness into peoples hearts. With darkness in peoples hearts, she created another Essence, an Essence forged from the darkness of peoples hearts. This Essence, unlike it's master, whom was bound to her realm, went forth into the other worlds and began to destroy. 'If the people will choose not to accept sorrow, then I will teach them it. They will all love us, and despair!' He had cried. The other five angels saw this and tried to stop the dark Essence, but it was far too powerful, a combination of all of their abilities. The Essence of Heart stepped forth to fight. The two Essences clashed. Millions of worlds were destroyed in the battle. In the end, the dark Essence took an entire realm hostage, and forced the light essence to surrender, then killed her."  
  
"The five angels did not know what to do. Darkness was possessing peoples hearts, and they were fighting over the light. Using the ark, a great war began. The Angel of Sorrow and it's Essence saw this and was pleased. The five angels knew what had to be done. They gathered together their powers, and separated the five realms, eternally severing the bonds that connected them. They then took the darkness and sealed it within the realm of sorrow. They separated the realm of sorrow from all the others, and then, using the last of their power, freed the Angel of Sorrow from darkness. When the angel saw what had happened, she cried. Her realm was forever one of darkness, and her kin was dying around her. Still the Dark Essence existed, and was beginning the reform the bonds with the worlds to start another war. The Angel of Sorrow would not have that. She healed her kin the best they could, and the six angels sealed themselves into statues. By doing this, the realm of sorrow was forever sealed away, and Ban'yuu's ark was sealed along with what remained of the good essence, to forever sleep."  
  
"To this day child, the darkness remains in the realm of sorrow, and it forever taints the dark essence. The Essence of Darkness lies in wait, waiting for the day for it's brother to be reborn, waiting for the day when he can unlock the mystic bonds that hold him, and again go forth and unleash his pain and despair upon the worlds."  
  
The young girl listening to this story with growing fascination, pulling her knees to her chest. "But Grandma.....the bad one is stuck behind the door, right? So he can't get lose?"  
  
"No my dear. He cannot. But as long as the darkness exists in peoples hearts, he exists. But it is said, one day, the Essence of Light will be reborn. And it said the ark will be found, and a final war of light and dark will begin. But light, in the end, will win. And together, the light and dark will at last seal darkness away. Remember how I told you that fragments of the light survive in the hearts of children?"  
  
"Yes Grandma, I remember."  
  
"Well, until the day that the true light is brought forth, it sleeps in here." The elderly women gently tapped the girls chest, and the young girl giggled. "And it is up to you, Kairi, to let the light shine. Do you think you can do this?"  
  
The young girl beamed up at the elderly women. "I will Grandma. I will."  
  
Sora blinked, pressing his face against the glass. "Kairi!?"  
  
The light faded, and the elderly women and girl with it. "Kairi!?" Sora called again. Icy wind caressed his face, the rain still pouring around him. He pushed away from the glass. "..Kairi...." He looked up at the sky.   
  
_** "Help me....."**   
  
_ The voice came again, a sobbing plea on the wind, and Sora turned towards the voice, his own lost. The rain poured around him, became streams that poured into gutters along the empty street.  
  
_** "Help me.......help me........."**  
  
_ Again he began to walk towards the voice.  
  
_ ** "Help me.....help me......help me........"**  
  
_ A feeling of urgency came to him, and he began to jog, chains adorning his clothing jingling with each step, shoes clicking on the wet pavement, rain pouring around him and drenching his hair, the crown of spikes drooping as if wilted.  
  
_ ** "Help me......help me......help me.......help me...."**  
  
_ He broke into a run, breathing hard, heart pounding in his chest. He stepped into a puddle and water flew up in wings, drenching his jeans. He took no notice, still running, though he knew not what he was running to.  
_  
** "Help me.....help me......help me....."**  
  
_ A large cathedral came into view, dark and foreboding before him. Gargoyles perched upon the roof, glaring down at him with unforgiving stone eyes, those with wings stretched out to leer at him, faces bared into snarls. Statues surrounded the cathedral, various ones designed like women, with large, gossamer wings folded upon their backs, rain giving them the appearance of being in tears. Fallen angels.  
  
_** "Help me.....help me.....help me...."**  
  
_ He ran past the statues, past the pillars and perched gargoyles, and threw open the double doors.  
  
_** "Help me....help me...."**  
  
Sora jolted from his sleep, sapphire eyes wide, sitting straight up in his bed, drenched in a cold sweat. His wings quivered, stretched outward. He gasped, breathing fast as his eyes darted around the dark room. Clothes strewn on the floor, desk covered in odds and ends, bulletin board full of pictures. His room.  
  
He panted, waiting for his breathing to slow, lying back on the sweat soaked sheets. "Just a dream..." He whispered out loud. "Just the dream." His eyebrows furrowed as he recalled what he could. "It was longer this time.....why?"  
  
No answer coming to him, he forced himself to close his eyes. "No need to seem tired tomorrow and worry Kairi..."  
  
A piercing scream suddenly came through the air, followed by another. Sora bolted upright again, eyes widening. A loud roar sounded, and he looked out his window. Large blazes of flame could be viewed upon the islands across the water, and dark shapes flitted around the various islands. The sky pulsed with black, like a living thing. Another scream came.  
  
Sora jumped out of bed, feet hitting the rug with a thump. Complete horror etched upon his face. "..Oh no..."  
  
  
  
**To be continued....**  
  
Well, that was fun! So begins the ending of arc one! Man, that was fun.....yay for foreboding dream sequences that only I understand what they stand for! (Crys cackles insanely, Auron whacks her over the head again. "Damnit Auron, stop that!" Crys growls) Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Hopefully it's not total crap.....  
  
Anyways, next chapter we see the attack on Destiny Islands, a prophecy beginning to be fulfilled, and if Cloud, Aerith, and Cid made it out of Traverse Town alive!  
  
Hope to see you then! ((Crys runs off to read LoTR fics before Auron can whack her again.))  
  
** Digitaldreamer**


	16. Dark Rain Part Two

**-Broken Rainbow-**

**By: Digitaldreamer**

**Chapter fourteen: Dark Rain, part two.**

Hi guys! I'm finally back!

(_"After a **Four month **hiatus." Auron says with a glare. Crys just grins cheepishly at him._)

I'm _SO SO SO SO **SO** _sorry about the lack of updates guys! Really! I'll make it up to you I swear! See, my friend believes I'll **never** finish Broken Rainbow, so now I **have** to prove her wrong! Rawr!

...alright, I'll shut up so you can read the chapter. No review answers this time because I don't wanna waste anymore time getting this chapter up.

Disclaimer: Do I own Kingdom Hearts? No. Do I own Yu Gi Oh? No. I'm tired, leave me alone.

* * *

((Suggested music...ummm...The Hallow Bastion...music...thing from KH....that music is scaaaarrryy...in a cool way))

Screams filled the night air, darkness swarming in the sky. Sora's eyes widened as he took in the sight. "What the hell!?"

He quickly jumped from his bed, clad only in his boxers. He grabbed a white t-shirt from the floor, pulling it over his head. He then pulled on a pair of baggy black jeans, These jeans had two small loops of cloth on each lower leg, and strung through those two loops and dangling around his legs were two shimming chains that hung just about to his ankle before going up to loop through the other cloth. There were zippers at about knee height on both legs as well. He strung a belt with pyramid studs adorning it through the belt loops, then clipped his crown chain onto a belt loop as well. He picked up some black boots from the floor and pulled them onto his feet. He then picked up a slightly large black hooded trench coat from a chair and pulled it on.

The trench coat was rather large, trailing down to his ankles. On one shoulder, etched in gold was the kanji symbol for "light", and on the other shoulder in silver was the kanji for "dark". Just below these were two cloth loops once more, and a chain was looped through that around his upper arms. There were bright yellow bands wrapped around the arms of the coat just below this. The sleeves were long, so long Sora had to roll the cuffs up to keep from getting in his way. On his left arm there was an area where the coat cut off, then there was a small five inch section of fishnet, which then connected to the rest of the sleeve. The drawstrings for the hood were dark gray and at the end of each one was a small silver crown charm. At his waist a dark blue belt was strung around the trench coat, but the clips were left open so the coat was open. Hanging from one of the buckles was a long silver chain, and at the end was another chain charm.

Sora picked up a black belt-like choker from his dresser and put it on, then pulled on his dog tags and the essence crystal.

"Now to find out what the heck is going o-"

He was interrupted as a loud CRASH and the sound of shattering glass was heard downstairs, followed by the shriek that could only belong to one woman...

"Mom!" Sora cried, throwing open his bedroom door and charging down the stairs. He skidded out of the hallway and into the dining room. Normally that room was rather nice looking. The room wasn't too big, a large round wooden table placed at the center of the room. A large glass window that took up nearly an entire wall overlooked the ocean. Various pictures of Sora, his mom, and one picture of his late father, were placed upon the light blue walls.

Now shards of glass covered the wood floor, the window shattered. Various pictures that had been framed now lay on the ground, frames cracked and broken. The table was in splinters, and perched upon those splinters was a cat-like beast. Muscles rippled under its obsidian black fur, the beast crouched as if ready to pounce, tail snapping in the air like a whip. Its ears were pressed against its head, yellowed teeth pulled back in a snarl. Backed up against the wall was Sora's mother, dressed in her light blue nightgown, sapphire eyes wide with terror, long chestnut hair messed up. A far cry from the smiling, laid back mother he knew.

Turning his attention to the beast, Sora summoned the Keyblade to his hand with a flash of light. "You!" Sora snarled. "Get away from my Mom!" He commanded, wings flaring out behind him.

The beast turned to look at him, giving a feral growl. Its golden eyes widened slightly at the sight of him, then narrowed. Sora's eyes narrowed as well.

With a cry Sora leapt at the beast, Keyblade flashing in the dark. The monster jumped as well, claws outstretched, unleashing a terrible roar. The Keyblade Master held the mystical weapon horizontally before him, and the great beast's claws pressed against it, jaws reaching for the teenager and snapping upon metal. However, upon contact with the weapon, the creature gave a shriek. The Keyblade flashed and the cat-like beast was thrown back, writhing in pain upon contact with the weapon of light.

Sora watched the creature writhe for a moment before holding out a gloved hand and chanting something under his breath, waved it. The beast ceased its thrashing and lay still, the golden light of it's eyes dimming. He then turned and ran to his fallen mother.

"Mom!! Are you okay!? What happened!?" He demanded.

"O-oh Sora..." The women threw her arms around her son, breath coming out in started gasps. "I was j-just getting a drink and I heard a crash coming from h-here, so I came to see what had happened and that t-thing attacked me!"

Sora nodded, carefully prying himself from his mothers grasp. "..There's probably more where that came from." He muttered, more to himself then his mother. "Mom, stay here alright. I need to go see if Riku and Kairi are okay!" With that, he turned on his heel and jumped through the broken remains of the window, Keyblade in hand. He didn't know that would be the last he ever saw of his mother....

Sora jumped into the air, wings flapping desperately for altitude in the flat air of night. All around was chaos. Buildings were flaming and collapsing, piles of flaming rubble lining the streets. People ran around in panic, creatures of black in quick pursuit. The sky was filled with a swarm of inky black, seething as though it were alive.

He looked down in horror at the mess. "Gotta get rid of those monsters..." Sora muttered. He held his arms in front of him, bent at the elbows so his upper arms crossed like an "x". His left hand was balled into a fist, save for the index and middle finger, which were up. His right clutched the Keyblade and held it horizontally in front of him. Sora bowed his head, shutting his eyes and began to chant.

"Amin yello deno i raamavoite en faina...." A blaze of pure white began to glow around the Keyblade master. "Tulya a amin sii ar fainu lye en lye loome...." The light began to swirl around him, encasing him in its warm embrace. "Tyel en loome sii, en tulya arinya!" Sora's eyes snapped open, and he threw his arms down. The light burst away from his body in a wave of white that washed over the entire island, destroying every creature of dark in its path.

Sora watched this, nodded to himself, and turned to fly to Kairi's.

"Not bad." A voice sneered from behind him. Sora blinked and turned towards its source.

The voice belonged to a boy whom didn't look much older then himself. Not that Sora could see much of him to tell, as he wore a heavy black raincoat that trailed to his ankles. It was zipped closed, and the tails of the coat trailed behind him in the wind to reveal tight gray jeans. His hood was pulled up, shadowing his eyes, so only his nose and mouth were visible, along with several light brown spikes of bangs that Sora could see. Two great wings spread from his back, feathers of gold, silver, bronze, copper, and brass shimmering in the light Sora had emitted. He grinned at Sora.

"Of course..." He drawled. "I should expect as much from the legendary Essence."

"Who are you?" Sora demanded, feathers upon his wings arching slightly as he beat his wings to stay aloft, Keyblade clutched tightly in hand.

The shrouded boy cocked his head to the side slightly. "Who am I?" He repeated. A small smirk appeared on his lips. "Don't you know?"

Sora scowled. "How would I know, I've never seen you before in my life!"

"Yes, of course. But you should still know me...after all, I know so much about you. I've been watching you for a long time. I've been waiting to meet you….." A dark smile spread across his lips.

"….. Brother."

Sora blinked, confusion etching itself on his features. "Brother!? What the hell are you talking about!?" He snapped.

The other's smile faded. "Of course, you wouldn't remember. Not with the limited information I was to give..."

"What are you talking about!?"

"Never mind." The other replied. A small smirk played across his lips again."After all....by the end of this, you'll understand. Now come. The master requires you." He held out a black gloved hand.

Sora scowled once more. "I'm not going anywhere with you!" He snapped.

The hooded boy cocked his head to the side once more. "Of course. You would be defiant at first. Such was predicted. But that's all right. In the end I'll make you see......they'll all see.......and I'll get rid of all those little imperfections that fill these worlds…..and once you see…you'll be all I need for payment."  
  
"What are you talking about!?" The Keyblade Master snarled. "I'm not going with you, and you're definantly _not_ my brother, I don't have any siblings!"

"Ah. But we are bound by something far stronger then a mere blood link."

Sora gave a growl of slight frustration. This guy was clearly insane. "Who are you?" He asked again.

"I have already answered your question." The boy replied.

"Well, I don't know you!" Sora snapped.

The boy raised a brow. "You truly do not? I suppose I was the only one gifted with the memories then. I guess that would work, seeing as I am the superior one anyway."

"Shut up! I don't have time for this!" The Essence turned to leave. A black gloved hand grabbed his arm to prevent him from doing so.

"I told you, you aren't leaving. " The hooded boy stated, calm as ever.

"Well, too bad, you can't tell me what to do." Sora replied, wrenching his arm from the boy's grip.

The boy floated in silence for a moment. "I see. So you truly do not remember…..because if you did, I'm sure you would be willing. Very well." The boy held out his arm and with a flash of light a Keyblade appeared in his hand. It was black, forged with some sort of crystal, some sort of light seeming to be contained within it and making it emit a strange black aura. Strange wires of a dark silver metal coiled around it, forming a sort of artistic mesh. The key part seemed to be made purely out of black energy, sparking every now and then. The boy's hand curled around the diamond grip. The Keychain was of a simple white heart with two demonic black wings spreading from it. Sora gaped. The other boy's eyes narrowed.

"I will instruct you. You choose to disobey, so you must be punished. If you will not come willingly, I will take you by force."

Sora gaped in shock for a moment, and then his lip curled into a smirk. "Yeah, too bad I'm not going to stick around for it!" He held up a hand, which glowed, and he drew the kanji for light in the air. "Tele-"

He was interrupted as the kanji for dark appeared over Soras symbol and canceled it out.

"I'm sorry." The hooded boy said. "But I cannot allow you to escape."

Sora scowled at him, summoning the Keyblade to his hand with a flash of light. "Fine! But seeing as you know I'm the Essence, you should also know you can't beat me!"

A smile quirked at the hooded boy's lips. "We shall see."

There were two flashes of multicolored light and the clang of metal hitting metal as both boys charged at the same time, their weapons meeting, sapphire eyes trying to glare into the shadowed ones of the other. They pulled back and the hooded boy swung for Sora's side. Sora blocked then dipped down and slashing at his opponent's midsection. The dark clad boy was fast however and pulled back, swinging downwards to strike the Keybearers head as he did so. Sora flipped in midair to dodge, gathering some energy in his palm as he did so. As soon as he was right side up he charged upward, fist clenched, rainbow energy sparking around it.

He made to slam his fist into his opponent's stomach but a leather clad fist caught his wrist to prevent him from doing so. Sora just smirked and flicked his fingers, the energy bursting forth to slam into the hooded boy's chest. Or it was supposed to anyway. Quick as lighting the hooded boy used Sora's wrist as leverage to flip up and over to come behind Sora, whom turned on an instant to block a strike at his back.

"You're fast." The hooded boy sneered.

"So are you." Sora snapped back.

His opponent didn't reply, choosing to charge once more. Sora flew upward to dodge, murmuring an incantation as he did so. The hooded boy followed him upwards, turning on a dime. Sora twisted and dipped downwards into a dive, diving right past his enemy, whom followed him.

"Come now, stop running away!" The hooded boy cried.

Suddenly Sora flipped onto his back, facing his opponent. His hands were in a fist in front of his face, index and middle fingers pointed upwards, Keyblade clenched downwards in the fist. "Comet rain!" He called out.

The hooded boy looked up, shadowed eyes staring up as hundreds of silvery orbs streaked from the sky, raining down on him, a storm of silver. He turned his head downward and held up his hands as the comets hit, an explosion of silver lighting up the sky.

"…Well, that's that.." Sora muttered, turning to fly away.

"Where do you think you're going!?" A voice demanded. The Keybearer blinked and turned to see the hooded boy still flying, a multicolored fore field flickering around him and vanishing. However, one thing was different. The hood had fallen from the boys face, revealing…

"..Wha….wha.." Sora gaped, eyes wide.

For he was staring into eyes identical to his own. Staring almost as if looking into a mirror, except his mirror image seemed to had darker hair and didn't look like he'd seen a day of sun in his life.

"What? Surprised?" His seeming twin smirked. "I told you we were brothers."

The Keybearer's eyes narrowed. "It's a trick of some kind!" He stated. "It's supposed to make me lose my nerve! Well I'm not falling for it!"

The boy smirked. "Fine, believe what you wish. But we are the same, you and I. Appearance, feelings, and powers. The only difference is I am superior. I am stronger. "

"Shut the hell up!" Sora snapped. "I don't believe any of your rants!" He held his right hand before him. "I don't like using this move on humans, but I've had enough of your crap!" His hand glowed blood red, fingers clenching so they were almost claw like. His eyes changed from sapphire to a glowing crimson.

"Line Erase!" Sora snarled, waving his hand.

A crimson glow began to surround his look-alike, blood red flames. However, instead of screaming in pain as he was erased from the fabrics of reality, the boy just smirked and waved his hand as well.

"Cancel."

Sora gaped as the glow vanished, his eyes turning back to sapphire. "..how…" He gasped. "I'm the Essence…..no one can cancel out that attack. "

"Of course. No one save for another Essence." The boy replied with a smirk.

"..Another…Essence?" Sora repeated eyes wide. "..You?"

"I am. I am Solus, the Reverse Essence, your Yang, your twin, your other half. You are the Sun, I am the Moon." He smiled. "We are connected, you and I. We share a bond far deeper then blood, going as far back as the beginning, when the six angels walked the earth."

"..I…no…you're lying!" Sora snarled.

"But it is the truth." Solus replied. "This is why I have decided you must be my younger brother instead of my elder, denying the truth is fairly childish is it not?"

"Shut up!" Sora snapped.

"Tsk tsk, Temper. This fiery rebellion of yours, this lack of respect, we're going to have to get that out of your system somehow." Solus said, speaking as one would to a misbehaving child.

"I don't need to have any respect for someone like you!" Sora growled, charging at Solus, energy gathering around him, wings flared behind. Solus blocked easily.

"You let words get to you so easily, that's what makes you weak. " Solus said calmly, hand clenching as energy sparked around it as well. He thrust his palm at Sora's stomach, sinking his nails into the Keybearers skin. All of the energy gathered round his palm surged into Sora, whom cried out in pain and pulled back, tumbling away. As he flipped, he happened to notice something…

Kairi's house! And it was swarming with darkness, tendrils of black leaping as if made of flames.

"Kairi!" Sora cried to himself, hands automatically forming the kanji for light in front of him.

Solus charged at Sora, whose back was still turned at him. "Foolish child, turning your back on an enemy!" It was then that he noticed the kanji and his eyes widened. "No!"

"Teleport!" Sora snapped, vanishing in a flash of light.

Solus's attack hit where Sora's head had been moments before, the boy himself slowing to a stop in midair. He turned round slowly, looking in every direction for the Essence. "Oh fine, so you want to play Hide and Seek eh!" He called into the empty air. "Fine! But just so you know, that game can't last forever, I'll find you eventually brother, you hear!?" His cry was met with silence.

Solus scowled. "Damnit."

* * *

Kairi bit her lip as she pulled on the string of her bow, sending another arrow of light into the chest of the serpentine beast dipping and curling before her. Her arrow hit it right between the eyes, and with a shriek the demon winged snake fell like a limp piece of rope. Kairi sighed, brushing her short red hair out of her eyes. She glanced down at her outfit, smiling to herself.

She wore a pure white halter top that stopped just above her belly button, and just below that was a short miniskirt that was tinted light purple and slit towards the bottom, a stripe of dark purple with some golden kanji on it at the end. She wore socks the color of her skirt on her feet, and over these she wore some black Japanese style sandles. On her arms she wore pure white furisode, the ends fading into the same light purple of her skirt and socks. (Think Yuna's arm things from FFX for those of you un-kimono-enlightened) Around her neck was a white choker and Sora's crown necklace hanging from a thin silver metal string.

Kairi shook her head. Now was not the time to admire her outfit. The beasts attacking her home didn't seem to diminishing, rather every time she defeated one, two more seemed to take its place.

At the moment she was facing several large cat-like creatures, each growling menacingly. The armored goblin-like things following them were banging their weapons against their palms, crimson eyes glittering dangerously. The serpentine beasts above her twisted round, gliding through the air as if swimming, great demonic wings beating now then. Kairi swallowed, this didn't look good.

As one the monsters leapt at her, and with a cry Kairi attempted to make a shield, closing her eyes.

Suddenly there was a bright flash of light above her and Sora dropped in front of her, Keyblade at ready, eyes narrowed. He scowled, energy sparking around him. "Yami!" He called out, swinging his Keyblade downward diagonally. A wave of black energy burst from his weapon and burst over the creatures before him, wiping many out and damaging others. "Hikari!" He then swung the weapon upwards diagonally. If the wave of dark didn't kill them, this pure white blast certainly did.

Sora spun the Keyblade around in his hand, tendrils of rainbow energy sparking around it. "NO SPIRARU!" With this cry he slammed the Keyblade into the ground. Energy of all elements burst from the ground in a spiral, blasting upwards to the kill the beasts above and spreading behind to kill those behind and around. The energy grew brighter and brighter until Kairi had to close her eyes.

When the light vanished only Sora stood amid a rain of sparkles.

"Sora!" Kairi cried, clearly relieved. Sora turned to grin at her.

"I wouldn't celebrate just yet, there are millions more headed our way."

Kairi blinked. She looked down at the ground, at the shadows cast by the light of flames of burning buildings. The shadows began to grow, coming up from the ground and forming into aleast fifty more beasts. The girl swallowed. "Can't you just erase them all!?"

Sora shook his head. "I can't, each one of them is really just an extension of the central line of darkness. Since they're all just connected to it, if I tried to erase them all I'd erase that entire line, and that would throw off the balance of all the elements."

Kairi groaned. "Great."

The Keybearer smiled at her. "Don't worry, we'll be fine." He said, just as one of the cat-like beasts leapt at him.

He blocked with his Keyblade and threw it back, summoning energy to his palm and firing. The beast let out a howl of pain as it disintegrated, however, as soon as it vanished two more took its place. Sora scowled as these two along with several goblins. Also came several wolf-like beasts, whom darted at him at impossible speeds. He jumped into the air, pulling back as a goblin narrowly missed him with a club, and then pulled up his legs as a cat slashed at them. He held out his palm, firing blast after blast of energy but seeming to only put tiny dents into the force of dark that was gathering around them.

Kairi hovered in the air, firing arrow after arrow, each striking true, sending the serptine beasts to their death. There was a hawk-like cry from above her and Kairi moved just in time to dodge the obsidian falcon-like monster that had dove at her. However, she didn't anticipate the other bird, which flitted past her, it's razor sharp beak grazing her face and drawing a line of crimson across it. She hissed, pulling back another arrow and slaying the creature that had hurt her. However, it was nothing as several hawk-like beasts took its place. Kairi bit her lip. _This is insane!_

Sora growled, having decided to save his energy and was now simply hacking and slashing at the hoard of enemies surrounding him. He was doing well; he hadn't been hurt so far. However, even as the Essence, he couldn't keep up forever. One of the cats pounced upon his back, sending him toppling to the ground, flaring his wings below the creature helplessly. He groaned, preparing to use yet another energy attack..

**TSSSSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEW!**

Sora blinked as the weight upon his back had suddenly vanished; he flipped over and looked into the face of his best friend. Riku was holding out his hand, Dragonblade in the other, a grin upon his face. "Looked like you could you some help!" He said.

The Keybearer grinned, taking the extended hand and allowed Riku to pull him up, then took a moment to survey Riku's outfit.

"Odd how we all seem to manage to find time to pick out clothes." Sora commented, spinning around and slamming the Keyblade into the skull of a cat with enough force to shatter it's skull.

"No kidding. " Riku snorted, releasing a wave of energy upon the beasts,

"Stop joking around you guys!" Kairi snapped from above, firing another arrow.

"Sorry Kairi!" Sora grunted; dodge rolling to avoid a bone crushing strike from a goblin.

"Tornado!" A voice called out, a whirlwind of green leaping into the fray and tearing into a group of beasts.

"Blizzaga!" A second voice cried, a burst of ice freezing several goblins.

"Goofy! Donald!" Sora cried, sounding rather happy as the green blur slowed into the knight and the wizard ran in through the path his spell has created.

"The King said to come help you!" Goofy called, bashing his shield into yet another beast.

"Well where is he!?" Riku demanded, ducking under a goblins strike and stabbing it in the gut.

"Right here!" Yet another voice called out, a black, gold, and silver blur charging through, sweeping past creatures and leaving trails of inky black smoke in it's wake. The blur slowed to reveal King Mickey, armed with his Keyblade, a confident smile on his face.

Kairi grinned from up above. "Awesome!" She said, pumping her fist into the air. "Whoa!" She was then forced to duck as yet another hawk dove past her.

"GREASED LIGHTNING!" A voice called out as a large red and yellow shurikan flew through the air, sparking with electricity. It connected with around ten of the flying beasts, each winged creature shrieking as they were shocked and vanished.

"FATED CIRCLE!" Yet another voice cried out. Fireballs rained from the sky, falling upon various beasts and causing them to fall to the ground, howling in pain.

Sora blinked, looking over to watch Leon and Yuffie run up. Yuffie grinned at them, catching her Conformer as it came back to her.

"The Great Ninja Yuffie at your service!" She giggled, striking a pose. "With my faithful lover Squall Leonhart!"

"It's Leon." Leon growled between clenched teeth. "Keep it up and I swear I'll divorce you!"

"Oh hush Squall-kun, you know you love me!" The ninja said sweetly, flipping away as a goblin swung its club at her.

Leon smirked, swinging his Gunblade in an arc and slashing the goblin across the stomach. He merely nodded at her.

Sora sighed with slight relief, slashing yet another beast down. "Well, at least everyone's alright!" He said. "Now c'mon, let's take these guys!"

The battle lasted for two hours, neither side giving in. Everyone fought their hardest, but the darkness was slowly overtaking them, their numbers unimaginable. Before they knew it, everyone was standing back to back, weapons out, wounded, panting, darkness swarming around them.

"Damnit." Riku snarled through clenched teeth. "What now?"

Sora scowled, looking up at the swarm of beasts above them, preventing an escape flight. "I dunno!"

"…Shit." Leon summed up the situation rather nicely.

Kairi shut her eyes, biting her lip. _This can't be the end…it can't be….please don't let it be the end. Someone help us!_

As if answered Kairi's prayer, a bright blue beam burst through the swarm of creatures. Everyone gaped, looking up, as through the hole it had created, a large, rather battered looking ship lowered itself down and came to a stop, hovering just above the ground.

Sora grinned. "Cid!"

The door to the ship swung open to reveal Aerith and Cloud, whom were holding out their hands. "JUMP IN!" Aerith cried over the roar of the engines.

Sora shook his head. "We can't leave; we have to defend the island!" He called back.

"Goddamnit, just get in, you guys ain't gonna save one damn thing in this mess!" Cid snapped from the dashboard, a sit cigarette in his mouth.

Leon nodded. "He's right! Everyone move!"

Sora answered with a curt nod, jumping into the air to fly to the ship. However, his way was almost immediately blocked by the dark creatures, glaring at him with crimson eyes.

"SHIT!" Yuffie cursed. "We can't get through, there's too many of em'!"

King Mickey stood in silence for a moment. "Sora, can you make a force field to protect everyone?"

Sora shook his head. "Even if I did, we couldn't fight them off, there's so many of them I can't just charge though."

Mickey nodded. "Make the force field. I'll hold them off while you guys get in."

Kairi's eyes widened. "No, you can't! You'll get killed!" She cried, shaking her head.

Goofy and Donald shook there heads as well. "No!" Donald snapped.

"Ya can't!" Goofy agreed. "You're our King, we need you!"

Mickey smiled grimly. "Yes, but you guys are going to be needed in this more then I will."

Sora blinked. "Wha?"

The mouse sighed. "I can't explain it. I just have this feeling….you all need to get out of here." He locked eyes with the Keybearer. "You especially."

The Keybearer blinked. "….why?"

"I can't explain, there's no time! Just go, now!" The mouse cried, his tone leaving no room for argument as he charged into the massive wall of beasts before them.

Sora stared at him for a moment before nodded. "Right..." He said, cupping his palm before his face, energy swirling around it. He waved his arm in an arc, and a sort of bubble appeared around everyone, rippling every now and then with a mirade of colors. "Let's go!" He began to run through the trail left by Mickey, everyone else following.

WHAM! A cat-like beast leapt at the barrier, but was instantly repelled. Its brethren followed, launching themselves at the barrier and being thrown away almost instantly, some breaking their necks in the process. The flying beasts struck from the air, each strike against the force field sounding like a gunshot.

Kairi winced as yet another beast was reflected from the force field and its neck snapped audibly. "Sora! You sure you can hold this up!"

Sora grit his teeth, nodding in reply, sweat soaking his forehead. He fixed his eyes upon Cid's Gummi Ship. _Just a bit more….just a bit further…._

At last they made it, Goofy and Donald jumping into the ship first and crashing into a wall. Leon and Yuffie followed, both landing gracefully. Kairi almost missed her jump, but Aerith grabbed her hand and pulled the redhead to safety. Riku dove in behind them, somehow managing not to crash into anyone in the now slightly crowded ship. Sora turned towards King Mickey, whom was still fighting the various beasts.

"Mickey! C'mon!" He called.

The King, however, was surrounded, beasts at all sides. The cat-like beasts fangs curled into snarls, goblins cracking their clubs and hammers against their palms, snakes twisting above, hawk-like creatures circling around, their cries filling the air. The mouse shot Sora a desperate look.

"There's too many, I can't get out!" He called.

Sora bit his lip, making as if to leap back into the fray.

"No no no NO Sora!" Mickey cried, waving his hands. "Go! I already told you you're more important!"

"But we can't leave you!"

"We already discussed this! Go!"

"But-"

"GO! As King, I command you to go!" Mickey snapped.

Sora sighed, locking eyes with the King for a final time before biting his lip and nodding. He turned and jumped into the gummi ship. The metal door shut and the ship's rockets flared before blasting away.

Mickey scowled, Keyblade clutched in his hand, eyes narrowed. "Alright, bright it on!" He growled.

However, the beasts did not attack. They stayed in attack position, but they never attacked. Mickey blinked, looking confused.

"Foolish King, sacrificing yourself for the Essence of Heart." A voice sneered.

Mickey jumped. "Who's there!?" He snapped.

The various beasts all parted, forming a sort of path. A boy walked along the path, not looking much older then sixteen, clad in a black leather-raincoat. The hood was down, revealing something that shocked Mickey….a face that looked identical to Sora's. The King gasped.

"Oh right…have to wait for you to get over the initial shock first, right." Solus said with a small smirk. "After all, I guess it's a bit shocking to see someone who looks identical to the Essence, right?"

"Who are you!?" Mickey demanded.

Solus snorted. "I've already gone through this speech once today. I'm not going to do it again. Besides…you don't really need to know."

The King leapt foreword with a cry, preparing to unleash a devastating attack upon the boy. Solus just held up his hand, which flashed an eerie blue. The same blue surrounded Mickey, stopping him in midair and just holding him there. Solus stepped foreward, coming so close they were nose to nose.

"Honestly King, I thought you had more patience then that. It isn't becoming of a ruler to be temperamental." Solus spoke, smirk still gracing his lips.

Mickey scowled, ears pressing back slightly in frustration, saying nothing.

"Oh, don't be scared!" Solus chuckled. "I'm not going to kill you!" He then smiled, a cold, sinister look coming to his face. "Oh no….I'm afraid we have far too many plans for you. I have something much, much better in mind…"

A scream echoed through the islands, mingling with all the other agonized cries of the tormented, dead and dying upon the crumbling world.

* * *

- **T O B E C O N T I N U E D -**

-

And so ends Dark Rain part two! Huzzah! So guys, what do you think? I hope after my involuntary four month hiatus my writing skills havn't died and made this terrible. ;;

Anyways, next chapter we see what happens to Sora and co, whether Destiny Islands goes BOOM or not, and the beginning of the fulfillment of a prophecy….

Find out what happens next after another four month hiatus!

(I'm just kidding guys; expect the next chapter sometime next week or the week after that.)

**Review button- FEED ME!**

**- D I G I T A L D R E A M E R -**


	17. The Permenant Hiatus

**Broken Rainbow**

**By Digitaldreamer**

**Chapter 17: The Permanent Hiatus**

**---**

Okay everyone, here's the deal:

**I'm not writing this fanfic anymore.**

In case you haven't noticed I have several One Piece fanfics up. I like One Piece now. I don't touch the Kingdom Hearts fandom. I still enjoy the series as a whole and I am eagerly awaiting KH2, but I simply don't feel inspired to continue this piece of crap that I used to call a fanfic.

I put a notice on my profile saying this, but apparently none of you pay attention to my profile.

I've come to face facts, it's been nearly a year. Broken Rainbow probably will never be finished. Even if I do get my addiction for Kingdom Hearts back, the plot is just too sloppy, over-angsty, and it just isn't me anymore. I look at the writing, and it feels like I'm reading an entirely different, horrible author's work. The characters all just don't seem right, the whole thing is just one big melodrama, and I just plain old don't want to write it anymore.

It's been a year and I'm an entirely different person now. There's just no point in writing it anymore.

I apologize to the readers who were still waiting for me to update. What I have written will remain for people to see, but there won't be anymore updates. You're free to still review, but stop with the death threats. I'm not writing this anymore. It's over, dead, and buried.

Thank you all of you who actually read it and reviewed it. You made my day during that time. Good luck to all of you.

If you have any complaints you're free to IM me or e-mail me, I'll understand.

Love to all of you.

**Digitaldreamer**


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